Addiction
by MargaritaDaemonelix
Summary: Love comes in four stages: predilection, infatuation, dedication and addiction. Inspired by the song of the same name by EVO and GigaReol. Part 1 of the Infernal Jukebox series.
1. Predilection

[A]ddiction

By MargaritaDaemonelix

Chapter 1: Predilection

 **A/N: Hello, peeps! Finally uploading this fantastic fic that I've been working on for a while now. Quick note: This fic takes place in my Inferno universe, so if you're curious about any of the other character classes, they're on my profile.**

 **Without further ado, please enjoy!**

 _Predilection(noun; plural: predilections) (pred-eh-LEK-shun)_

 _A preference or special liking for something; a bias in favor of something._

* * *

When Ara travelled across Elrios, seeking her brother, she occasionally allied with others.

Sometimes it would be with someone she could confirm was on the Elrian side of the war, someone with high expertise in close combat. Other times it would be a mage of some sort, able to provide movement enhancements and the like for her. Usually, however, it was just another random buff guy she found in a bar, sidled up to, fluttered her eyelashes at, played the innocent sweetheart.

Usually they were too drunk to notice who she really was. All they saw was a beautiful young lady with ebony-black hair and wide golden eyes. None of her "meatshields", as she often called them, really ever noticed who she really was until they were standing in front of a demon legion. And usually, she didn't ever see them again.

That is, until one somewhat odd night, when she was passing through Bethma with nothing but five dollars and the clothes on her back…

* * *

"Can I take your order, sir?"

"I'll have a glass of whiskey, please," grumbled the hooded man, bits of his pale lavender hair sticking out of his hood. He laid a handful of coins on the counter, sliding them over to the bartender.

The bartender chuckled. "Sir, you can take off your hood if you want. It's not like we're going to arrest you."

The hooded man looked up and glared at him with intense purple eyes, a glowing scar across his left eye. "Oh, most want me arrested. I'm taking no chances."

As the bartender nodded and set the glass of whiskey on the counter, Ara pushed open the door to the bar. It was mostly filled with buff men, trying to prove their bravado by arm wrestling each other over tables. A few fistfights broke out, but Ara paid no attention to them.

It had been a horrible day. Some of her brother's troops had caught her, tried to torture her. She'd dropped her entire provision pack in her scramble to escape, leaving her with exactly five ED that she'd found on the side of the road.

Hey, at least she could buy herself a drink.

Stepping elegantly to the counter, Ara shoved a few men out of the way by their faces. A path of silence followed her as she sat down on a stool by the bar. "A glass of vodka, please," she said, grinning sweetly.

The bartender nodded, gulped nervously, and turned to fetch her drink. The occupants of the bar stared at her as she swung her pale, long legs around and crossed them in front of her. She could practically _see_ the thoughts going through all of their minds, and couldn't help smirking a little.

"That'll be two dollars, miss," said the bartender, turning back to her with a crystal glass. _Have to give credit where credit is due_ , she thought, _he even garnished it_.

The bar rumbled back to life as Ara took a long sip of her vodka. It reminded her of the wine Father made at home, from the glutinous rice Mother grew, which meant it smelled and tasted like medical booze. Anything to remind her of home.

"That's mighty strong for a delicate flower like you," said the hooded man next to her. She turned to face him, fluttering her eyelashes at him like they were butterfly wings.

"Oh really? I've had plenty, and I think it's perfectly fine," she said innocently. This man was giving her the perfect setup-a reason to talk would soon evolve into flirting, and eventually, she could get him to go on the next expedition with her, into demon territory.

"As long as you're not going to get ridiculously drunk off it," he scoffed. "I don't want to have to drag you back home."

 _Dangerous one_ , thought Ara giddily. "Mm. What's your name?"

The man coughed uncomfortably. "Add. Why?"

His name seemed oddly familiar with her, but she didn't pay it any attention. "Oh, just asking. I'm Ara, by the way."

Add grunted and stuck out his hand. Ara shook it. Amber gold locked with fluorescent purple for a moment before the two turned back to their drinks.

"The war doesn't seem like it'll end at this rate, will it?" She commented offhandedly, staring into her quickly disappearing vodka.

"I don't think we'll see the end of it for another two years," chuckled Add, downing the last of his whiskey. "Those people who fight the demons… They're either frickin' brave, or frickin' stupid, or both. Frankly, I don't think I'm out to do anything about it."

 _Perfect_. "My parents were killed by the demons, you know," she said, her voice dropping quieter. "You have anyone left?"

Add shook his head. "My parents and I were slaves for the old Alteran government," he said. "I escaped by hiding in the library. At least the new queen is nice."

 _Right. The new Alteran queen is positively adorable. She's like a tiny fluffy marshmallow_. "Being in a library is nice, isn't it? You get to learn a lot."

Add stared at her like she was crazy. "Why are you asking me all these questions?"

 _Oh hell no_. "Hey, I've been travelling for a long time by myself," she said, shrugging and raising her hands in defense. "I haven't had someone to talk to in a long time."

Her companion tilted his head before laughing a little and throwing his hood off, revealing a mane of pale lavender hair. "That makes two of us. The Alteran library taught me a lot about machinery, and weaponry. You know how the Alterans are Nasods, right? I learned plenty about them, too. I really want to build my own, someday, but the last time I went to petition to the queen for some codes…" He spread his hands. "She kicked me out."

Ara snickered as Add's expression wilted. "Not funny."

"What kind of gear do you use?" She asked, finally ending her sudden fit of snickering. "Like, what gadgets have you built? Any robots?"

Now it was Add's turn to chuckle. "Not yet," he admitted, "but I do have a set of six Dynamos that I use for self-protection."

"Dynamos?"

"They're like a type of generator," he explained. "By churning in a wheel, they capture the electric flow that naturally occurs in the air and direct it into a beam of energy."

By the sheer tone of his voice, Ara could tell that Add was proud of his creation. "So you fight with electricity," she said. "That's darned awesome." She wasn't bluffing, either; as a user of magic, technology was one of those things beyond her control. "I carry a spear around with me when I travel, but I had to leave it outside… They said no weapons. Hey, where'd you put your Dynamos? I'd give a pretty buck to see them." _I don't have a pretty buck._

Add snorted. "Like you said. I had to leave it outside. They said no weapons."

 _Now's my chance._ "Will you show them to me? I'll spar you," she offered.

He stared at her like she was crazy. "You, spar against me? Hah, I'd really rather not kill you. You're too pretty to kill, and honestly, you're entertaining," he said, laughing.

"And are you sure you can call yourself a worthy opponent of the Queen of the Underworld?" She countered. "You've got your fancy electro-gadgets. I've got my spear. And my other abilities, but not that I'll need them if you're just going to chicken out."

Add's scar seemed to glow, as his eyes lit up with a dangerous light. "Are you insinuating that I'm a coward?" He said, slowly turning to Ara.

She had already stood up, and was walking away, pushing people aside. "Get your dynamites, and let's go," she commanded, as gracefully as she _didn't_ feel.

Inside, she was already giggling like a five year old.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Teased Ara, twirling her spear around nonchalantly while leaning on a wall, as Add tinkered with the controls on his Dynamos. "At this rate, we won't be able to spar until next week. Seriously, stop messing with your gadgets and fight me like a man."

Add growled under his breath before closing his control panel. "Alright, then."

He turned around, his grey cloak swinging around with him. "Oh, ditch the poncho," chuckled Ara. "It's not like I'll spare you any mercy if you wear it."

The scientist growled again. "Fine."

As his cloak fell to the ground, Ara had to remind herself to look professional.

Add was wearing a polished set of armor, doubtlessly a set he'd made himself. Electricity in his signature purple glowed along the seams in the armor. His purple shirt wasn't quite buttoned all the way, exposing a cast-iron pendant that lay on his chest.

Behind him, the six Dynamos whirred to life, beginning to generate energy.

Ara smirked. "Oh, so now you're ready," she muttered under her breath, taking in a clear gulp of air and exhaling. " _En garde_."

Unsurprisingly, he was the first to charge in, leaving streaks of electricity trailing behind him. Ara jabbed forwards with her spear, forcing him back before beginning to execute a long train of swift kicks and slashes, forcing him to step backwards. He charged again, sending a shock through her shoulders and down her spine when he grazed past by her.

 _Dammit!_ She cursed in her mind as he turned around and sent a storm of homing missiles towards her. A strangled cry left her lips as the twelve missiles made contact with her arms and shoulders, leaving what would doubtlessly becoming bruises overnight.

"You see? I told you that you can't beat me," laughed Add maniacally. He jumped up onto his Dynamos, which began supporting him in midair. "Catch me if you can."

Ara growled under her breath before jumping into the air and slamming her spear into the ground, muttering the words "Falling Dragon" as she did. The blast caught Add by surprise, sending him flying. He landed about five metres away, skidding across the rocky ground before stopping. His face contorted into an almost feral scowl before he parted his lips to yell something.

"PSYCHIC STORM!"

A wave of purple wind began to swirl around him, blowing leaves across Ara's legs and leaving scratches as long as her hand. The electric tornado began to drag her towards him before exploding and sending her hurtling skywards, then to the ashen ground.

As she lay on the ground, trying to ignore the pain searing through her back and hips, a voice began reverberating through her mind, a voice as ancient as time itself.

 _Do you need some help, my child?_

 _Yes,_ she breathed in reply.

This was it. She had everything under control.

Jumping away from Add's next attack, Ara slammed her spear to the ground, grinning as she felt her hair flow away from her and become pure white. Nine ivory tails sprouted from behind her. When she opened her eyes, they were red, with equally red streaks across the sides of her face. As she opened her mouth to speak, a different voice left her.

"Now, we dance."

The voice of the millennium fox left her lips trembling from the sheer power. Add, on the other hand, simply scoffed. "Oh yeah? What dance? A waltz where you trip over your own feet, _vixen_?"

"Excuse you, I am no vixen," Ara heard herself snarl at him. "I am Eun, the Millennium Fox. This human is blessed with my powers, and you're going to step away from her if you don't want your ass to be whipped and handed back to you on a silver platter."

"EUN!" She shrieked, smacking herself in the face. Add took it as a chance to attack, glowing purple as he rushed into the fray. Reacting quickly, Ara swung her hand out to channel magic. A small vortex of powerful, vacuum-like energy appeared in front of her outstretched palm, pulling Add towards her. _Now, go!_

Ara took in a deep breath, remembering what her animal companion had taught her about using secret arts.

 _You can't just charge straight into the attack. You need to build the magic up through a series of paths. Every person has their own series, and it differs between person to person. You have access to two secret arts, the first of which starts with a quick attack forwards._

Twirling her spear around in her hand, Ara lunged at her opponent, feeling her spear make contact with his armor three times and send three electric shocks up the metal and into her arms.

 _The second path is usually simple: a way to force the opponent into a bad position._

A surge of power rushed into Ara's arms as she let the wind carry her spear, delivering a series of lightning-fast jabs to his chest and catching him off guard. He opened his mouth to say something, but Ara didn't hear it. Blood was rushing into her ears, leaving her deaf and deafening.

 _The third path takes the form of a powerful slash, leaving your opponent bleeding and defenseless._

"Shield!" Roared Add, his Dynamos gathering in front of his to create a last-second defense. Not a moment too soon, either-Ara swung her spear up at him, its two-pronged end splitting the Dynamos into two lines and slashing a line up his exposed sternum, an attack that otherwise could have easily killed him.

 _The fourth path requires you to trap your opponent in place. Pin him to the ground, or to a wall. Either one works._

Shifting her spear to her non-dominant hand, Ara gathered a globe of energy before letting Eun take over, morphing it into a spear made of shadows. Flicking her wrist, she let her new weapon towards Add, stabbing him before dissolving into smoke.

 _If you got it just right, your secret art should activate. You are capable of doing it without my assistance, of course, but I will lend you my power, and that of my ancestors._

 _Deliver the killing blow, Ara._

The girl-turned-kumiho stabbed her spear downwards into the ground, pointing her arm out at Add. A swarm of ancient wolf spirits rushed towards him, completely deactivating his armor and severing its connection to his Dynamos, which clattered to the ground. As Ara watched in somewhat awe and horror, her new companion collapsed in an unceremonious heap, unconscious.

The white drained out of her hair, and the tails disappeared, leaving one very concerned human girl. "Oh my El," she whimpered. "Do I have to drag him upstairs?!"

 _Yes. Deal with it._

Groaning, Ara threw her spear at a nearby dumpster, making sure it wouldn't be stolen before collecting Add's Dynamos and placing them in the shadows as well. She then bent down and poked Add in the nose. _Yup. He's down for the count._

Slinging his arm over her shoulder, Ara stood up, trying to support his weight over hers. Despite appearing beautifully slim, Ara had a lot of muscle from training for years.

Muscle mass wasn't the issue at hand, though. Add was still out cold, and Ara was afraid that he'd knock into things. Just as she was taking her first few steps forwards, his head rolled from his shoulder to hers, causing her to pause and blush at the sudden warmth.

 _Pull yourself together, Haan!_ She mentally scolded herself, although it could have been Eun speaking. She took in a deep breath before continuing on, pulling him up the fire escape to their shared room and laying him down on the single bed before rushing back down the staircase to grab their weapons. As she retrieved her spear, a few birds flew out of the dumpster and disappeared into the night sky.

Without looking back, Ara climbed the staircase to the inn, her arms full of weapons and her heart full of hope.

* * *

"What are we doing?"

"Shhh, you're going to give us away!"

Add glared pointedly at his partner as they crouched behind a mass of boulders, monitoring what had to be the heart of demon territory in Sander. "I am not. Glitters can't hear anything below fifty-five decibels. Our whispering only hits about twenty. Besides, you owe me an explanation after you knocked me out unceremoniously last night!"

Ara winced and flexed her now sore shoulders. "Serves you right."

She turned to the demon base, where a group was beginning to file out. "You see them? They took my pack when I ran into them yesterday," she explained.

"Why are you even running into the demons?" Squawked Add.

A dry chuckle escaped Ara's lips. "I told you my first name, didn't I?" She said innocently, but the undertone was bitter. "Well, my last name is Haan. Ara Haan."

As Add put two and two together, Ara revelled in his expression changing from shock, to anger, to complete and utter discombobulation. "What-?" He blurted, clearly understanding. " _You're related to the dark earl?!_ "

"He's my brother, actually," laughed Ara. "He killed our parents and was about to kill me, except my kumiho companion, Eun, saved my sorry ass at the last second. I've been trying to take him down ever since."

" _He's your brother!_ " Scolded Add. "Why would you want to kill him?"

Once again, Ara let out a dry laugh. "Anyone who killed my parents and tried to kill me is no brother of mine," she deadpanned. "Anyways, our mission today is to get in there, raid everything we can, kill a few hundred of those creatures, and get my stuff back."

Add stared at her for a moment before breaking out into loud laughter. "You're hilarious, Ara. I like that about you. You're hilarious and pretty much insane, but according to most people, so am I. What the hell."

"THERE! INTRUDERS!"

"Dammit, you hit fifty-five decibels!" Seethed Ara, dragging her spear across a rock and watching the sparks fly in every direction. "Prepare for impact. Oh boy, we might even see my brother today if we're not lucky…"

A horn somewhere bellowed as a group of glitters began to rush out towards the duo's boulder hideout. "If my brother's in today, I'll take care of him, you handle the stupid mindless minions," she yelled over the blaring horn, standing up and readying her spear.

"For the record, it's not my fault if you get killed," he retorted, the Dynamos starting up and beginning to spin in a circle behind him.

As soon as they charged the glitters, an entire line of shield-bearers went down when just one shield touched Add's electric circle. The electricity arced between the shields, creating a massive chain reaction that left the entire line twitching on the ground. Ara stepped in and began jabbing at slashing at everything she could find, while Add activated little gadgets he'd doubtlessly built himself and sent them into the waves of dark minions.

"ARA!" Boomed someone in the distance. The corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly. "After all the trouble you caused yesterday, you still come back just to annoy me."

A tall man with white hair and black demon horns stepped out of the shadows, wielding an equally dark sword. "And it looks like you brought your little boyfriend to play, too," he sneered. "Why are you here? What is your purpose?"

Tossing her spear out, Ara manipulated a little magic and caused it to spin forwards, like a saw blade, before returning to her hand. She stuck the weapon in the ground and leaned on it casually. "First of all, this isn't my boyfriend, _Aren_. I'd never hook up with anyone _this_ wimpy."

"Hey!" Yelled Add from his location(atop a steadily growing pile of dead glitters).

Ara ignored him. "Secondly, to answer your questions, I am here to get my stuff back. You know I actually liked that pack, _Aren_. Mother and Father gave it to me for when I started traveling across Elrios with my friends."

"Mother and Father are _dead_ ," hissed Ran, "and don't you forget it. And stop calling me Aren. I am Ran now, and you know it!"

"Whatever, _Aren_ ," sang Ara. "Are you going to fight me or not?"

Ran snarled and charged at his sister, who pulled her spear out of the ground and slammed it against the dirt, propelling herself away from his attack. She landed on the shield of a dead glitter, adding just a few more centimetres to her height so she could stand even with her brother. "You took away my childhood," she began, keeping her voice soft and level. "You took away my parents, my friends, my home. I don't even have to say you're not human anymore, because you clearly aren't."

At this point, Ran had clearly had enough of her speech, and charged in. Suddenly, Ara found herself flying through the air as he scooped the shield from underneath her and unleashed a row of damned souls from underneath the ground.

Well, at least Add had cleared the stupid glitters away before she landed. _Why does this always happen to me?_

Suddenly, her body stopped moving, though she was still able to breathe. _Dammit, he did his antigravity thing!_

Sure enough, Ran was holding his arm up and channeling energy through the earth, causing Ara to float up into the air. This time, as she dropped down, she was able to right herself up and land on her feet, which was not fun while she was wearing her nice heels.

 _Really, Ara, you can do better than this. Let me help you a little._

She took in a deep breath, and let Eun's power flow through her once more.

 _Alright, then. I trust that you want something a little more powerful this time?_

 _Yeah. Guide me, Eun._

 _I will guide you. Together, we will show him Purgatory._

One of the strange powers Ara had gained upon accepting Eun as her guardian was the control of spirit energy. Every living being had it-some non-living creatures had it too. It was known in many names-chi, chakra, aura-but Ara herself prefered to just refer to it as spirit energy. She begun by letting her spear fall into her arms and pushing her palms out, creating a vortex to vacuum in that very spirit energy that she needed.

A handful of glitters around her fell to the ground, their eyes blank and unseeing. Some of the weaker demons were highly susceptible to attacks like this.

 _Your first path of the Rakshasa art needs you to drag your opponent towards you._

Taking the energy she gathered, Ara sent it out in the form of a swirling orb, which latched around her brother and dragged him towards her.

 _Next, take the remaining spirit energy you've gathered, and blast it at him._

Ran was only just getting up after his sister's surprise attack when a chain of fiery little orbs crashed into his gut. He doubled over for a moment before baring his teeth and swinging his sword at her yet again.

 _The third path is to trap him. Make sure he doesn't touch you, or this won't work!_

The Haan family was already a magically-gifted one. Ara brought her hand down, causing a circle of ghostly black spears to encircle her brother. As he clashed against the prison, a final spear, tinted golden in the sunlight, came crashing down on him.

 _The final path may be a little exhausting. You will need to use some of your own spirit energy to create a shadow of yourself. This shadow will steal the souls of all in its path, and all of it will go to you._

Steeling herself for the attack, Ara slashed out with her spear, causing a silhouette of herself to rush forwards. She could feel it underneath her feet-her secret art had worked.

 _If you've done it right, there should be a large mass of energy awaiting you. The souls of the damned should see fit to lend you their power, from Purgatory itself._

A wave of large spirit energy orbs erupted from the ground, like a row of volcanoes. Ara sliced out with her spear. "Go."

The orbs detonated, one by one, sending Ran flying and landing on his back, twenty metres away. "Retreat!" He yelled, getting up. "Victor! It's all yours."

Ara nearly toppled off her feet as something extremely heavy walked out of the compound, a gigantic monster that was about as tall as the building itself. "VICTOR IS HERE!" Boomed the creature, the ground rumbling. "WHO'S READY TO RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE?!"

"Not me," muttered Add sarcastically under his breath.

Ara grit her teeth and began to clear her way towards the monster as Eun's power drained out of her, signalling that the kumiho needed a break. The motions had become almost liquid to her, after years of training-slash, stab, lunge, parry, slice.

It was almost too late when she noticed the huge blue _thing_ hurtling towards her.

For the third time that day, Ara found herself hurtling through the air. As she landed, though, a huge ominous shadow loomed over her. It was Victor, and he looked like he was about to turn her into a grease spot.

Calculations ran through Ara's mind; if she used her spear, it would most definitely snap. She couldn't use any magic, though, because she'd run out of spirit energy. Using a vortex to generate more at the last second would only cause certain death by pancakification.

"Get away from her, you fat blue Jabba-the-Hutt knockoff!"

Before she could even blink, the terror that was Victor suddenly disappeared, followed by a familiar streak of purple electricity. "You've got guts to mess around with me," rumbled Victor, wincing as he stood up, sparks still arcing around him. "Fight me. _Fite me._ "

Add laughed-no, he cackled. Ara had heard him simply laugh before; this was the deranged cacophony of a mad scientist at work. "Alright, then," he snickered, "you asked for it."

As Victor charged again, Add began to rush forwards, bringing his full electric glory with him. Hopping off his Dynamos, they created an orb of electricity. A single flick of his wrist told them all they needed to know; the orb crashed into Victor, locking him in place.

"Psychic Storm!" Commanded Add. His Dynamos began to spin around Victor at ridiculous speeds, whirling him upwards and letting him crash back down.

The mind-shattering _boom_ that followed was deafening.

Ara stood up shakily, supporting herself with her spear as she walked into the crater. Add was standing victoriously over Victor, who was lying in the middle of the crater, groaning. "Should I spare him any mercy, milady?" Joked Add.

She shook her head. "Any creature that associates with Aren should be shown no mercy. He doesn't deserve to die," she said. "Let him wallow in his misery."

A sort of wild light shone in Add's eyes. "If the lady commands it."

Together, they climbed out of the crater, leaning on each other for support. "Lady El, that was _not_ how I wanted my day to begin," muttered Ara.

"Yeah, but haven't you gotten used to it?" Asked Add. Upon receiving her confused expression, he elaborated: "You fight demons all the time, don't you. Your brother is just another demon for you to fight-not just a physical one, but a spiritual one too."

He glanced down at his feet. "I guess I've got my own demons to battle too," he murmured softly. Instantly, images of a young boy with snow-white hair locked in a dark library flooded Ara's mind. She saw how much pain he must have suffered, alone in the dark. She knew that pain.

She smiled. "Then I guess we'll just have to take on those demons together," she chirped, giving him a playful smack on the back. The corners of his mouth turned up, not a real smile yet, but getting there.

"Yeah."

The moment they reached a nearby hill, the both of them collapsed on its grassy side. "You know, that was kinda fun," admitted Add. "We went in there, wrecked a bunch of crap, beat the heck out of the dark earl, made a crater the size of Elder City."

Ara frowned. "Now that you mention it, we forgot one thing."

Add sat up, looking confused. "What?"

"We completely forgot to get my stuff back."


	2. Infatuation

[A]ddiction

By MargaritaDaemonelix

Chapter 2: Infatuation

 **A/N: Two new characters! Again, please consult my profile if you're unsure of the classes. This one's in Inferno... But I put their classes in their somewhere, so I think it'll all be fine!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Infatuation(noun; plural: infatuations) (in-faa-chu-AY-shun)_

 _An intense but short-lived passion or admiration for someone or something._

* * *

It started with a dream.

Ara had strange dreams sometimes, with all sorts of strange creatures that only existed in the furthest horizons of her mind. But this…

This was a new one.

In her dream, she was out shopping for supplies. It wasn't out of the blue for her to be getting supplies from a shop-it was very hard to get antibacterial from her loot raids, after all.

It was what happened afterwards that made her cringe at the memory.

Continuing along the path, she arrived at an inn. She walked up two flights of stairs before opening a random door. The room was cosy, the pale yellow light from the candles reminding her of home. It was just like those candles Mother used to make herself, from beeswax. Even the scent was the exact same...

"I'm back," she announced suddenly.

"Did you get any snacks?" Asked a half-asleep voice. "I'm starving."

Ara chuckled, setting the bag of supplies down before walking in and sitting on the edge of the bed. "You know they're not healthy. I'm not letting you subside off junk food."

The swivel chair by the illuminated desk turned around to reveal a clearly foggy Add, trying to put some screws into a… Gadget of some sort. "But chips are good because… They taste good!" He whined. "C'mon, tell me you at least grabbed some fried crackers on the way out."

Ara shook her head. "Nope."

The scientist groaned and flopped on his desk ,scattering random CPU parts and screws everywhere. "Damn you and your health quota," he mumbled.

Laughing a little to herself, Ara walked over to her pale-haired companion, sitting on the armrest of his swivel chair. "I know something that'll taste much better than fried crackers and chips combined," she teased.

Add sat up and raised an eyebrow. "Really."

She laughed again. Wrapping her hands behind his neck. "Really."

Ara was no stranger to kissing. Her lips had given away their soft kisses to one too many people, loveless kisses that gave away less than they took. But this was different. This was passion, this was fire, this was…

Was this… Love?

And with a gasp, Ara woke up, sitting straight up in her bed and clutching her chest in shock.

 _It's not a nightmare,_ she repeated to herself. Ara stopped having nightmares when she started killing, because by then, not only was everyone she cared for either dead or a demon, she pretty much had nothing left to lose. It wasn't a normal dream either; there weren't any crazy plant monsters, and Eun sure as hell didn't show up.

… Wait.

"EUN!" Groaned Ara loudly, flicking the hairpin on her nightstand playfully.

 _Yes, Ara dear?_

That tone of voice immediately said something was off. "You wouldn't happen to be hijacking my dreams to ship me and Add, would you?" She asked sweetly.

The kumiho didn't respond. Ara took her silence as a yes.

It was already late in the morning when Ara woke up. She'd taken a large job the previous night, and while she'd wanted to drag Add along, he had been nowhere to be found. It was days like this that made Ara think that she needed a life outside her somewhat shady activities.

It was also days like this that made Ara realize she was hungry from skipping breakfast.

"Oh… Ehe…" She glanced at the clock on the wall, which showed her the stunning time of eleven thirty in the morning. "I might as well just go grab brunch at a cafe or something."

She knew it was odd to be wearing such revealing clothes, but when she tugged her black dress over her chest, there was a sense of pride that accompanied her confident stride. It was like her own way of saying _fuck you_ to her brother.

 _Why did I get such a nice set of clothes, anyways?_ She wondered to herself. _I mean, Mother always said I had nice legs that I should show off, but I don't have anyone to show them off to._

Eun scoffed. _What about that white haired boy._

Ara tripped over her own feet as she tried to pack her bag. "Eun, for the last time, I am not interested in pursuing a relationship with Add!" She chided. "We're business partners, which means if he dies I'm not responsible."

 _Yeah, but internally you would feel responsible._

The voice of the fox faded out. Ara sensed that her animal companion had retreated to the hairpin that she'd affixed in her hair bun, and sighed. It wasn't everyday she got relationship advice from a mythological creature.

More like… Once every week or so.

As she checked her purse for the money to actually purchase brunch, Eun's words began to echo in her mind. What if Add _did_ die on her? Would she be guilty? Would she feel responsible?

Out of the back of her mind, Ara recalled one of the last conversations she'd had with him.

" _I have to admit, Ara, you've grown on me. You're no longer just a nuisance of a vixen that drags me off to Bloodbathland every weekend. I guess you've actually become a friend."_

" _Um, thank you?"_

It was hard to pinpoint, but she'd felt… Empty, almost, afterwards. Like being friends simply wasn't satisfying. At the time, she'd thought it was because she hadn't expected him to be so friendly with her, but after considering Eun's protip, maybe it wasn't.

… Maybe she was in love with Add, after all.

"Okay, enough sappy thoughts for one day," she exclaimed out loud. "Time to eat."

Her stomach gurgled in agreement.

It only took her a few minutes to sign out of the inn. Within ten minutes, she was seated at one of the tables at the nearby cafe, the Sapphire Ivy.

"I'll have some chrysanthemum tea, please, with rock sugar," she told the waitress that was recording her order. "Do you have butternut squash soup?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Ara beamed. "I'll take an order of the soup, please, with a side of garlic bread. Thank you!"

The waitress bowed her head and walked away, returning with a steaming teapot and a beautiful little sugar bowl, filled with rock sugar. "Actually, ma'am, there's another young woman here for brunch. Do you mind if we add her to your table?" Asked the waitress anxiously.

"Of course!" Gasped Ara. Despite her work not being one to share, Ara loved meeting new people. Friends were friends, and Ara loved being with her friends.

 _Like Add~_

Ara nearly slapped herself in an attempt to get Eun to shut up, but the other girl was already arriving. Black dress, silver hair, golden eyes that never blinked. Instantly, she knew this was a nasod.

"Good morning," she said politely, taking a sip of her tea. "Although, I should be saying 'good noon' at this hour."

The nasod girl dipped her head. "The time has not surpassed twelve o'clock noon, so 'good morning' will suffice," she dictated. Turning to the waitress, she placed her order: "An Earl Grey with no sugar or milk, along with a raisin tea biscuit, please."

As soon as the waitress disappeared with the order, the nasod turned back to Ara, who began to notice little details on her outfit. A knick of the metal here, what seemed to be the imprint of a blade there, and _was that a bloodstain?_ She didn't really want to know.

Suddenly, the other girl tensed. "You must not dwell on my appearance," she said.

"Yeah, but you're hurt," pointed Ara. "Look, you've got a cut on your forehead…"

As soon as she brushed the silver hair away from the nasod's forehead, she knew instantly who she was. The golden plating around the smooth El crystal said it all.

The last time she'd brought up the queen of the nasod, she'd thought of her as a tiny fluffy marshmallow. She wasn't off-this girl was just a murderous marshmallow.

"Your majesty," whispered Ara, "you really should get some rest. Here, I'll help you-"

"Call me Eve," said the young queen. Ara knew the story-she'd ascended to the throne at the tender age of fourteen, after overthrowing the previous, corrupt government of Altera.

"Ara Haan."

Eve arched an eyebrow. "What a chance meeting," she said, seemingly delighted. "The two queens of the underworld, sipping tea in a cafe."

Despite Ara being known as the queen of the Elrios underworld, Altera was a special exception. There was another famed assassin who worked in that island, one that Ara had never faced in person. Another young woman, one they called…

"Nemesis," she whispered in awe. "It's an honour."

Eve shook her head. "No, the honour is all mine, Yama Raja."

Ara flushed a little as Eve referred to the nickname many people called her by. "How about we get our food to go, and eat outside?" She suggested. "It seems you have quite the story to tell."

Another ten minutes later, the two of them were sitting behind the cafe, on an old dumpster that didn't seem to work anymore. "Now that you know my real identity, I can tell you everything," said Eve, picking the raisins out of her tea biscuit gingerly. Ara wondered whether "real identity" meant "queen of the nasod" or "Nemesis"."Recently, I have partnered up with the assassin from Hamel, the Deadly Chaser."

"Who is he?" Asked Ara.

Eve turned to her with her giant golden eyes. "Do you recall how the prince of Hamel was reported missing and assumed dead after the invasion of the demons?"

As Ara's eyes widened in shock, Eve smiled a little. "He is alive and well. His name is Chung Seiker, and he is my "partner in crime", as they say."

Her serene smile turned into a frown. "Last night, we were given an assignment to take down a pair of powerful adversaries. Their names are In and Jin. Twin demons. Unfortunately, we were doublecrossed, and Chung was taken prisoner by the demons." Her eyes dimmed a little as she gazed into the distance. "I can only hope they haven't killed him."

Ara put a hand on Eve's shoulder. "Hey, I know what it's like to have a partner disappear on you," she said. "You familiar with this guy called Add Kim?"

Eve's eyes lit up. " _You're working with_ that _idiot?!_ " She blurted incredulously. So much for those rumours about nasods being emotionless.

"Yeah. I beat his sorry ass and knocked him out cold, and then I dragged him off to raid my brother's place," she said. "It was fun, and we do work together more often, but… Even this morning, I was wondering what would happen if he died on the job." She chuckled to herself. "I'm not helping much, am I."

The nasod shook her head. "No, I understand." She scoffed as she tossed the rest of the tea biscuit in her mouth. "Men."

They shared a laugh-or, while Ara laughed, Eve smiled and patted the human girl on the back. "Hold on; there's someone approaching," she said," suddenly frowning and taking some sort of a console unit out of her bag. Two drones, a black one and a white one, flew out of the bag, ready for combat at their mistress' command. "This may be dangerous; you may need to ready your spear."

Ara held out her hand. Eun had taught her a new trick recently: she could vaporize her spear, send it to the spirit realm, and summon it again from the shadows. By grabbing at the shadows cast by the midday sun and the ledge on the cafe's roof, she was able to retrieve her two-pronged spear easily, leaping off the dumpster to face this new arrival.

"Any moment now…" Whispered Eve, holding her hand to command her drones. "NOW!"

Just as Add stepped around the corner, a series of wild attacks, including but not limited to batterings by two drones, spear slashes and jabs, a handful of handcrafted nasod weapons and magical vortices, launched themselves at him. At the last moment possible, his Dynamos pulled up an emergency electric shield that managed to deflect all the attacks, save for one tap of Ara's spear against his armor.

"Ow," he complained, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead and swooning.

Ara giggled. "Add!" She exclaimed, dropping her spear and launching herself at him. For a moment, he looked like he was about to raise the shield again, but he only clenched his jaw as she tackled him in a huge hug, practically hanging off his neck. "Where have you been?"

"Looking for a certain _someone_ who said they would be at a certain inn," he quipped. Ara stopped for a moment, remembering that she'd told him that she'd be at the inn. She shrugged, which only caused him to groan loudly and smack his face with his palm.

All the while, Eve had been studying them curiously. "It is strange that you actually communicate with humans now, is it not, Add?" She teased. "Last I saw you was when I kicked your sorry ass out of the Alteran palace."

Add literally had to pry Ara off him. "If you'd just given me one of your stupid little codes, all would be well, and my _sorry ass_ wouldn't have suffered any damage," he grumbled. "It's nice to see you again, Eve. Where's your boy toy?"

The message got across as soon as Eve's face fell. "Captured by demons, I presume?" He said. "Well, we can't let the shota just die, can we?"

He turned to Ara. "What were your plans for tonight?" He asked her.

Ara shrugged again. "I was planning to just find some demons to beat the shit out of," she mused, "but I suppose a rescue-and-raid sounds just as fun. Count me in!"

The relief that spread across Eve's face was almost a novelty, in this world without much to cherish. "Thank you. Both of you."

Ara could have sworn that the nasod was crying.

* * *

A few trips to COBO Banking and the grocery store later, the three of them were on the road, traveling towards Lanox, where Eve had last been. According to her, there was a third "Queen of the underworld" there, who was literally an underworld queen-she'd been a demon overlord before being expelled to Elrios, and was now rebelling against her people. "Sourcream is very short," explained Eve, "but her butler is very tall, and she herself packs a lot of power for a ten-year old."

For days afterwards, Ara would wonder what kind of parent in their right mind would name their kid "Sourcream".

It was only natural that while the three of them travelled, Add and Eve were at each other's necks like wolves, always arguing or threatening to tear each other to shreds. Frankly, Ara didn't know which one was more terrifying-seeing them argue about technology, the image of Add in shreds or the image of Eve standing over the remains of Add.

"For the last time, I am _not_ courting Chung Seiker!" Shrieked Eve, slapping Add across the face. Her drones, which Ara had learned were named Moby and Remy, floated nearby curiously, watching their mistress beat Add up over his teasing. "How would you like it if I implicated that you were dating miss Haan here, hmm?"

"Ara is a co worker, and a friend," sniped Add, "though that goes to show I still have more of a love life than you do. You can't even keep your hands on the shota, because he's too busy playing with the demons."

Eve let out an enraged roar and stomped ahead, leaving Ara and Add walking behind her.

Ara turned to glare pointedly at Add, who just gave her the stinkeye. "What?"

"Men," muttered the girl under her breath as she jogged a few metres ahead to catch up with Eve. "Hey, if you've got issues with him, lay it out on me. I can punish him later."

The nasod queen didn't even face her as she continued walking, staring at the ground aggressively. "A long time ago, I believed that Add would be an excellent adversary. A sparring partner, even. That was before I found that he was an asshole in his own right," she spat. "He tried to kill me more than once, just to get my codes. Add Kim is a brash, brash human being, and he cannot stand in the way of the Alteran Empire."

She lifted her head up to look at Ara, and smiled. "That's where you come in. Ara, you already know him better than I ever will. Please make sure he does not come barging in through my front door, demanding my codes. You're making him more human already, and less… Statue."

"Statue, not robot?" Teased Ara, poking Eve in the shoulder.

"Affirmative."

"Hey, you two, Lanox is just up ahead!"

The girls both stopped. "How did you know?" Asked Ara incredulously, looking around. The town was nowhere to be seen, if only because they were walking through the plains by an active volcano.

Add scoffed. "Because I actually read the sign."

Ara walked over to the post that Add gestured to as Eve glided over on the tips of her black-clad feet. Sure enough, the wooden board that was lazily affixed to the stake read "LANOX, 1 MILE" in bold red lettering.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Don't we have someone to rescue?" Said Ara.

Eve didn't need to be told twice. With the two humans running to catch up to her, she zipped ahead, into the distance, where the promise of her friend's safety lay.

* * *

It was nine o'clock when the three of them finally got out of the two little rooms they'd booked in a dingy inn. They'd eaten their dinner in relative silence, and even though Ara had tried to liven up the simple meal of cold ham sandwiches, none of her three companions(check: two humanoids and a fox) had responded. Ara was carrying her spear, Add had his Dynamos and fancy gear, and Eve… Eve had even more fancy gear.

Moby and Remy buzzed around her head as she fixed a fan of blades to her back. They were like spears, but not like Ara's-whereas her spear had a blade on the very tip, Eve's blades were on the sides of the spears. She had a thigh holster, where she tucked a somewhat large blaster that was doubtlessly loaded with explosives. Ara was fairly certain that the queen had even tucked bombs in her skirt, ready to be released at any moment.

"We were attacking this compound when Chung was captured," she murmured as the three of them neared what seemed to be an open pit. Upon closer examination, however, Ara could see the demons marching in and out of the entrances. A train of flickering creatures was marching with them, but Ara couldn't tell what they were.

Add gulped. "Are those fire spirits?"

Eve nodded. "Indeed. Melted down half my arsenal, the little suckers."

For a moment, Ara pondered. "If I took the souls of those things, would blasting spirit energy at them be like blasting fire?" She thought out loud. Add and Eve both stared at her like she was insane, but both turned back to the pit of demons.

"I'm calling it Tartarus," whispered Add.

"Tartar sauce?" Replied Ara hopefully. "I haven't had tartar sauce since before the war began."

"Shh!" Eve glared at both of them. "Now's our chance. Go!"

Swiftly, the trio ran across the barren, rocky land, avoiding the occasional patches of flowing lava that popped up in their path. At the opening of the chasm, Eve pulled one of the many spears out of her back and drove it into the rock.

 _Clink._

The sound of metal hitting solid rock echoed into the pit as Eve tied a rope to the top of the spear, where the handle seemed perfect as a tether. "Alright, who's up?" She said. "Whoever goes down there, we'll come down if we hear any noise."

Add put his hand up. "I guess this is the one time when 'ladies first' doesn't really apply," he joked, hopping onto his Dynamos. "I'll take the expressway down."

He disappeared down the side of the pit, leaving an electric purple streak behind him. "Ara," said Eve softly, prompting the girl to face her. "If this is it… I just wanted to say, thank you. You've changed Add a lot. Thank you for that."

As soon as she felt the tears begin to well up at the corners of her eyes, Ara leapt forwards and tackled Eve into a hug. "I'm glad we got to chat," she said, sniffling a little.

It was very light at first, but Ara was positive that she felt Eve's arms wrap around her back as well.

 ** _BOOM_**

"COME AT ME, YOU LITTLE SHITS-"

The girls pulled away from the somewhat awkward embrace as Add's voice echoed through the canyon, carrying the colourful word choice with it. "Well, there's our cue to go," said Ara. "I'll take the expressway, too."

When Eve tilted her head in confusion, Ara smiled. The nasod not understanding magic was just her lack of understanding of technology… Maybe she could ask Eve to explain some of Add's gear to her someday. Ara backed up a few metres before running off the edge of the cliff, using Eun's power and the wind to slow her descent significantly.

She could see Add in one of the rings(of hell, she thought), fighting what had to be a small army of demons and getting swamped. "Clear the way!" She yelled at him, hoping her voice would carry over as she grabbed her spear out of the shadows. Hopefully the incantation would work if she did it in midair…

Just as she ran over the demon swarm, Add jumped aside. "Falling Dragon!" she yelled, doing a midair somersault before slamming her spear on the ground. The impact alone smashed several creatures to mere splotches, and the resulting ripple waves sent many more flying through the air.

Eve came floating down, stepping lightly on Moby and Remy. Her shadow cast a wave of fear over the demons, as she removed yet another spear from her back and attached some sort of explosive tip to the very front.

"Face your judgement!"

The explosion that came from her spear nearly knocked Ara off her feet. _Add may be good at the whole "stun you with tech" thing, but Eve definitely wins in the explosives department._

An entire line of demons fell as Eve shot a single piercing bullet through the row, the fire alive in her eyes. "Where is the Deadly Chaser?" She hissed, picking one demon up by the front of its shirt and shaking it wildly. "Where is he?"

"I… I don't know!" Wailed the demon, scrambling from her grasp and disappearing into the darkness. The few surviving flame spirits and demons scampered after it. Add stood up from where he'd been sitting peacefully on the now bloodstained floor, looking at the cavern where the monsters had disappeared into.

"I don't know about you, but I'd bet ten dollars that our missing shota-in-distress is down that passage somewhere," he said. "Unless neither of you ladies have ten dollars. I'll bet that bottle of ten year old whiskey I've been keeping in that case."

"Don't bother with it," said Ara quickly, closing her eyes. Out in the blue, she could sense a soul that was fighting harder to stay ablaze than any other. It burned a bright blue, like the sky.

"The whiskey or the bet?" Quipped Add.

"Both, dummy, as much as I'd like the whiskey. I can see his soul in the distance. He's down that path, but we've got to hurry if we want to get to him while he's still alive."

"RUN, YOU PLEBEIANS!" Yelled Eve, soaring down the path as Add hopped on his Dynamos and Ara called the wind to help her. _I've never seen anyone so worked up about a rescue mission,_ thought Ara, but she didn't say anything about it. It was clear that even though maybe Eve wasn't going to start dating the former prince of Hamel anytime soon, they had a strong platonic bond.

If nasods were even capable of emotion, that is.

"Tired yet, little prince!"

"Shut the hell up and explain to me how you're not dying!?"

"CHUNG!" Hollered Eve, boosting herself just a little further. Suddenly, she dropped out of view.

Ara and Add skidded to a stop at the edge of another cliff. This one had to go down at least twenty metres, which couldn't have been a very nice impact. Fortunately, the two of them could see Eve at the bottom, fighting the twin demons alongside a figure in white and blue armor.

"Welp, looks like they've got it covered. Should we drop out of the sky like bombs, or should we drop out of the sky like falcons?" Contemplated Add. He turned to face Ara, presumably to ask for her opinion, but she was already over the edge, and was closer to Eve and Chung than she was to the ledge. Add groaned as he hopped back on his Dynamos. "Bombs away it is."

As Ara landed on the hot stone floor in the cavern, it only took her a second to assess the situation. The demons were indeed twins-a male and a female. Chung was, in fact, a shota, but a) he had a barrier cannon, the type that only guardians of Hamel used, and b) he was covered in silvery white armor. He was cussing angrily at the two demons, which was hilarious considering he was about a head shorter than either of them.

"I'd stay here watching pika-Chung swear all day too, but we really need to get a move on."

Ara blinked as she realized that Add was next to her, having landed. "Great. I'll join Eve against the girl, and you help Chung with the guy!" She ordered as she ran in to stab her spear at Jin, the female demon.

"You… You're Ran's sister!" Gasped Jin, her words laced with false admiration. "To what do I owe the honour?"

"First off, that _monster_ is not my brother," growled Ara, stepping to the side as Jin slashed one blade at her and one at Eve. "Second, if you're paying anyone any honour, you should pay it to the fuckin' queen of Altera!"

Eve leapt aside at another attack, removing two of the blades from her back. "That's right, demon scum," she spat. "Prepare to meet your maker."

The demon simply snarled at both of them and began to swing both her blades at ridiculously high speeds. "Step away from her!" Yelled Eve. Ara propelled herself away from the spinning demon top as Eve jumped into the air, launching a ring of her blades much like Ara's Spear Prison, and bringing it down with her as she pounded Jin into the floor.

Ara pressed her hand to the now still demon's back, and made a vortex, breathing in deeply as she felt her spirit energy reserves fill up.

Jin collapsed to the floor in a heap, as Chung put a train of bullets through In's chest and Add sent a storm of his missiles through the demon's back.

The cavern was silent for a moment, save for the sounds of the few surviving demons screaming as they escaped the cavern. "That was… more hectic than I'd expected," commented Add, poking at a burn on his arm that was already beginning to heal.

"Indeed," hummed Eve, who was standing next to Chung, one hand on his shoulder. "Although I think this one was rather fun, don't you think?"

Ara smiled. "It's always fun when we fight with friends."

Chung cleared his throat. "I hate to break the gal-pal-ing, but has anyone considered how we're going to get back up?"

Three pairs of eyes followed his outstretched finger to the ledge to the outside world, twenty metres above them.

The silence of the cavern was broken by a single, extremely loud shout:

"CONSARN IT!"

* * *

"So what do you think of Eve and Chung?"

Even though the original idea was that the boys would share a room and the girls would share a room, the Alteran monarch and the former Hamel prince clearly needed some alone time. Which led to Ara sharing a room with Add, the latter clearly a little miffed.

"I'm not sure. Their partnership is clearly great, I can tell that much, but little queenie there has literally got the shota wrapped around her finger," he griped. "I'm not sure whether that's safe or not, but it's hilarious watching them."

Ara blinked. "Yeah. I think they work together well, don't they?"

"They've been working together for less than a year, and yet they can read each others' next move like an open book," mused the scientist, settling down on his bed with his arms over his head.

 _Now's your chance, Ara. Go get him!_

Gulping, Ara put on the snarkiest smirk she could. "Want to match that?" She teased, though it was more of an offer. "Full time partners, travelling the world together as we fight demons in the name of the divine El Lady?"

Add stared at her like she was insane. "You're bony and thin," she pointed. "I can see the bones in your hands. You clearly need more nutrition. You've been eating nothing but junk food, haven't you?" She stood up and glared at him. "I'm not going to let you subside off junk food!"

"I am not thin and bony," he argued. "I actually have physical strength-"

Ara reached over, grabbed his index finger, and drew out a little power from Eun. Add yelped as the bone snapped, leaving his finger hanging limply. She sighed and wrapped it in spirit energy, healing it almost instantly. "You'll have to be careful with that one. You break it anymore, I'm not responsible," she said. "Point is, Add, you're a precious, precious friend to me. I haven't been so close to anyone since before Ran. And I want to-no, I _need_ to make sure you don't get hurt."

They sat in awkward silence for a few moments, hands clasped around each others', when Add suddenly looked up and smirked. "Yeah, sure we can do the whole partners thing, but did you have to break my finger to make a point like that? You're kinda being a hypocrite, you know."

Ara gasped. "You take that back, Add Kim!"

As the two of them began to bicker playfully, Eve stood in the half-open doorway, not having moved since they began talking. Her cloaking faded around her as she closed the door. _Mission accomplished._ Finally, an old frenemy of hers found peace.

"Miss Eve?"

She turned around to find Chung, standing in his pajamas, a large pillow in his arms. "Come back to bed before you catch a cold or something," he scolded. "Oh wait-Nasods can't catch colds, can they?"

Eve found herself almost laughing. "Not that I know of," she said as she followed him back into their shared room, "but I'm fairly certain that they can experience a variety of other conditions…"

* * *

 **A/N: I'll leave the future of our resident marshmallow and shota to you to decide. And the very loud scream.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I may not update next week, because (!) exams. Well, I don't have any on Monday, so I might, but... We'll see.**

 **Fun fact: It took me a month to write the first chapter, but only two days to write this one. Yes, I know I have no control over my life.**

 **Sorry if Eve's a little OOC. I really wanted her to be sassy for this one.**


	3. Dedication

[A]ddiction

By MargaritaDaemonelix

Chapter 3: Dedication

 _Dedication(noun; plural: dedications) (Deh-dih-KAY-shun)_

 _4: Self sacrificing devotion._

* * *

Days like this made Ara feel right at home.

The sun was shining, birds were chirping and landing on her collar and hairpin. When she managed to ignore Eun's complaining, she almost felt like Snow White. Except she was wearing black, and she kinda skipped on the whole red part of the outfit.

That said, there were apples in her bag that could have made up for the lack of rouge.

She and Add had settled into a whole new lifestyle, after a lot of organization on Eve's part(that nasod was a lifesaver, thought Ara) and some tips from Chung. Ara did the shopping, because Add apparently was a vampire and couldn't go into the sunlight, but Add cooked because Ara managed to overcook and undercook eggs at the same time. They always slept in separate beds, because sleeping in the same bed was for married people, and when there was only one bed, Add slept in the chair by the desk and left the bed for Ara.

It was strange. Life was strange.

Heck, even the errand board was strange.

In every town in Elrios, there was a message board that displayed people who were willing to hire. The two of them actually got most of their jobs from the board, the bloodier ones at least. Most wouldn't know how to find those jobs on a _public_ message board, but after a little digging, they were able to find something.

The board was also home to a lot of wanted posters, those of the most dangerous criminals in Elrios. There were the petty-like Banthus-and then there were the just plain evil-like Ran. Ara couldn't help feel a little smug every time she saw one of her brother's wanted posters.

As she was browsing the wanted section on the board, it became clear that no new posters had been tacked up since the last time she'd been at the board. Just when she was about to leave, a smudge of a familiar purple caught her eye.

"Oh?" She pondered, tugging it out from underneath posters of Banthus and Ran and some lady named Ignia. It took a few tries, but the moment she freed the thin sheet of paper from its hold, her jaw dropped.

Staring back at her from the photo, captured in his maniacal laughter, was Add. **The Lunatic Psyker** , it read in big black lettering. **$1 million, dead or alive.**

Part of Ara was sure that this was just some random person who wanted Add dead for some reason-revenge, jealousy, spite, the classics. As she turned the page over, though, her face only fell as she saw the imperial seal of Velder.

 _What did Add do to cause this?_ She thought, mourning slightly to herself in her mind. He was just a wonderful friend, and a powerful partner. Sure, he was a little cray-cray sometimes when he hit one of his "inventing highs", as Ara liked to call them, but overall, she couldn't think of any reason why he'd be a wanted criminal. He was very careful, after all, to harm as little people as possible when they set out in their missions.

On the other hand, it explained his vampire-like tendencies.

She shook her head. "First things first, I need to get back to the inn," she muttered. "Add still hasn't eaten yet, and neither have I." As if to prove her point, her stomach gurgled loudly. Some people stopped and stared at her for a few moments before continuing on.

The inn wasn't too far away from the shop where she got her groceries. She was up the stairs and knocking out a brief three taps on the door within ten minutes. A buzzing _click_ signalled that the door was open, and Ara knew instantly that Add had unlocked the door with one of his Dynamos.

Which only meant that he was sitting at the desk, working, yet again.

"Add Kim!" She gasped playfully, stomping into the room. "You get your velvet-covered arse out of that swivel chair before I decide to whoop it to next Tuesday! You know the human body can't take long periods of sitting down! Sitting is the new smoking, Add."

The scientist groaned and turned around in the chair. "Damn you, Haan," he complained, getting up to rifle through her haul. "I was actually getting some progress in with my new gloves."

Ara sat down on the only bed and swung her legs around, unzipping the side of her boot so she could slip it off. "Tell me about it."

Add rolled his eyes. "You want the long version or the short version?"

"Short version, please," Ara shot back.

"I can now get my Dynamos to go where I want by only moving one finger," explained Add, returning from his raid of the grocery bags with an apple. Without washing it, he bit in. "You see this? This is an apple. Now watch."

He picked up the glove and slipped it over his slim fingers. Ara wondered whether he'd played piano in the past, as he placed the apple on the top of her head and pointed his index finger(the one she'd repaired, mind you) at it. Immediately, three of his Dynamos flew over to scoop the fruit off her head. "See," he boasted, "science. Way better than mag-"

Ara snapped her fingers, summoning a few curious animal spirits and directing them at the Dynamos. Instantly, the generators straightened up, letting the apple drop unceremoniously on Add's head with a rather satisfying _thwonk_.

Add stared at Ara as she giggled. "It's not funny, Ara. At least I have control over them now. You should have seen what happened when I put the controls under my toes…"

"Yeah, sure. Hey, grab those boxes of sushi, would you?" she said, patting the bed beside her. "Let's watch some TV or something. Maybe Eve's giving a speech or something."

Shrugging, Add plucked the sushi out of the bag, handing one to Ara and keeping one for himself as he sat down next to her. Ara turned on the TV, flickering between the children's channel to Altera News to the updates on Hamel's current condition. Somehow, despite Hamel's invasion by the demons, nothing had interfered with the television. Possibly because the only secure part of Elrios, Altera, ran the whole TV station.

As Ara somehow predicted, Eve was giving a speech. Chung was nowhere to be found, because the rest of the world thought he was dead, but as Eve spoke into the microphone on the podium, standing meekly in her flared black dress, Ara saw her pause every so slightly before every carefully enunciated word.

"It is my duty as the standing ruler of our island empire of Altera," said Eve, "to attempt to establish good relations with other countries and kingdoms in Elrios. I will not tolerate inhumane treatment of any given party, however." A pause. "In the best interests of Alteran Empire, as well as all of Elrios, the current takeover by the demons must stop. Lives are being taken, innocent lives that had plenty of potential."

"What about you, your majesty?" Asked someone in the auditorium. "What role will you play?"

Eve glared at the audience, directing her laser-like eyes at the offending person. "I will provide the Alteran palace as refuge for anyone fleeing the demons," she said haughtily, pausing for a moment; "and in the scenario that all hope is lost, I will stand in front of the palace myself with an armed guard, and we will defend the people of Elrios with our lives."

Add squinted at the screen, which was about the size of a frame made by four of his Dynamos. "I think she's got someone giving her a script via speaker," he noted, pointing at the young queen as she took a moment to breathe. "Ten cents it's Chung."

When Ara glared at him, he wilted. "Alright, guess we're not betting cash. Whiskey's still out there."

She sighed, letting her head fall onto his shoulder. "Can you put on something from channel nine? They always have good movies."

As Eve's highly diplomatic "maintain peace while asserting authority" buzzed out, the sound of one of Ara's favourite old films from long ago, about a world without the magic or technology that graced Elrios, began to play. Unfortunately, it was the ending theme-the movie had ended, leaving Ara thoroughly disappointed.

"Well, we should be getting to sleep," she muttered, pulling the covers out from underneath them and feeling a little dejected. They had plans for the next day, and they needed sleep.

Add began to get up, discarding his now empty sushi package on the nightstand. "I'll go sleep on the desk tonight-"

With a swift motion, Ara pinned him back down on the bed. "Oh no you aren't," she exclaimed. "You've been sitting in that stupid chair for nearly a day now. I'll take the desk."

It didn't occur to her until much later that their faces were barely ten centimetres apart.

"Hey! I actually know what it's like to sleep on that desk! You don't," Add began to argue, but Ara put her index finger over his lips to shut him up and gently pushed him under the covers as she herself began to slip out, sitting on top of the fabric.

She didn't know any mind magic to instantly knock him out(aside from maybe giving him a swift smack to the head) but she did know how to sing. As Add tried to rise again, Ara parted her lips and let the sound flow.

" _Moonlight, stars shine_

 _Let your glow go on_

 _Starlight, midnight_

 _I'll be home before long_

 _And even if we fall_

 _We'll get through it all_

 _Midnight, bright light_

 _In the path of day_

 _Sunshine, day life_

 _I will take the right way_

 _And though it's too good to be true_

 _I know you'll always love me, too…_

 _Moonlight, midnight_

 _Two hearts as one_

 _Starlight, dark night_

 _I still believe you're the one."_

At first, Add stopped struggling. After a while, he didn't even react when she started patting out the beat gently on his shoulder. By the last verse, he was fast asleep, curling up against Ara's body and wrapped up in the blanket like a kitten.

Ara sighed, stroking his hair softly. "You never brush your hair, Add," she whispered. "You should take a little more care of it. You'd look nice with your hair down flattened down… Maybe it'll be long enough to pull into a ponytail, even."

It was peaceful watching his chest rise and fall with his breathing, almost therapeutic. She could hardly believe that this sleeping man was a wanted criminal by the Velder government. Just what had he done to deserve this?

"If Add is a wanted criminal, then… What does that make me?" She dared to ask. Somewhere in her mind, Eun snorted.

 _Someone who's harbouring a wanted criminal, no doubt,_ said the kumiho dryly. _Or, if you want to put it differently, someone who's protecting a wanted criminal._

Somehow, it made sense. "Yeah," murmured Ara, gently caressing Add's hands in her own. "I'll be his protector. The Velder police aren't getting anywhere near him while I'm here with him. I'll tear them all to pieces with my bare hands if I have to."

 _What is that term you kids these days use? Chill, Ara. I'm sure he can handle himself just fine. If he's been on the run this long and hasn't been caught, I'm pretty certain he'll be fine._

Still not convinced despite the kumiho's words, Ara leaned down, feeling his warm breath wash over her. Without any hesitation, she pressed her lips to his forehead softly. "Sweet dreams, little one," she sighed, standing up to get off the bed and sit back down on the swivel chair.

"What do you know, it's actually quite comfortable here," she murmured, propping her feet up on the desk before leaning back and falling fast asleep within a heartbeat.

* * *

Three days had passed since Ara discovered Add's wanted poster. They'd taken on odd jobs here and there to kill time until Friday, when all the good jobs came up. By the time Friday rolled by, Ara's hands were covered in burns, something that hadn't happened since she'd escaped the ruins of Farhman's Peak, two years ago.

But it was finally Friday, and they were headed towards the job board once more. Ads of people trying to sell all sorts of equipment and food and _services_ were plastered all across the front of the board, but the two of them made their way to the back, where a handful of blank sheets of paper were tacked up.

Normal people would just return to the front, but Add flicked a very sore finger at the board, sending a Dynamo at it. The diamond-shaped gadget shone a black light on the paper, revealing the text that was written meticulously in invisible ink.

 **Looking for: Someone who is willing to take on Nemesis**

"Okay, not that one," muttered Ara under her breath. "I don't think we could take on Eve, emotionally or physically."

 **Looking for: Someone who can kill the dark earl**

Add shrugged. "We're kinda already doing that. Besides, usually those ones are just traps. They'll get you to do it and take all the glory from Velder. You see, they don't even list a prize!"

 **Looking for: Someone who can lend me a thousand dollars… Someone who isn't female and is willing to get their hands dirty… Anyone good with a weapon who can get into Hamel…**

Ninety percent of the jobs posted on the board were nigh impossible or just plain ridiculous. Many of these employers were simply trying to trap people with high talents for their abilities, so they could take the glory when it all boiled down. Some of the "jobs" were outright impossible, asking the potential employees to kill politicians and people that were simply too well guarded or too powerful to kill.

 **Looking for: Someone who can get rid of Chloe**

"Hey Add, I think this one's okay," she said. "There's a pretty nice reward, and all we have to do is take down this one lady named Chloe."

The scientist turned from another disappointing poster to look at the one Ara was gesturing at. "Chloe?" He echoed, ripping the page from the pin and examining it under the light. "Isn't she the dark elf that literally took over Velder's capital within three days of arriving there?"

Ara flushed a little. "I was wondering why that name sounded so familiar," she muttered. "Anyways, we can take her on together, right…?"

As her voice trailed off, out of the corner of her eye, Ara spotted an emblem that used to be a source of comfort to her, but now brought nothing but bad premonitions of the future. The "V" shape that identified the symbol so clearly was curled and stylized, which could only mean that this was a special officer.

 _The Velder Police._

Without a second thought, Ara grabbed her companion by the arm, dragging him into the shadows. "Hey! What the f-" Yelled Add. Ara slapped her hand over his mouth before he could spew out a train of profanity.

"Shh," she told him, summoning her spear from the shadows. Spirits under the earth rumbled, asking her for direction. She gave them clear instructions, and they obeyed.

 _ **KABOOM.**_

While the Velder officer was occupied with examining the explosion, Ara continued running, dragging Add behind her, all while he spouted a list of very colourful words that would no doubt earn him a hard slap across the face from Eve. She dashed on through the suburbs, not caring that people were staring at them. As long as Add was wearing his hood and no one could see him, they were safe.

Nearly a kilometer outside the suburbs of Velder, Ara slowed down enough for Add to hop off his Dynamos and drag his feet in the ground, braking them. He grabbed her by the shoulders and began to shake her violently. "WHAT THE FUCK, HAAN?" He barked, looking a little wild. "That was the most insane thing I've seen you do since you blew up half of-"

"Now, now, Add," chided Ara, "we don't talk about Bethma. Besides, it's not really my fault they keep piles of flame powder everywhere."

"That still doesn't explain why you dragged me two kilometers!" Wailed Add.

Ara sighed, realizing that she needed a good excuse and fast. "I saw an old flame," she lied, "who tried to kill me and is not aware that I am alive." Really, she'd been with so many people that Add had learned to stop questioning these things. They both ran risky businesses, and Ara was fond of having connections to people, but not all of them went well.

Ran being the prime example.

Add didn't look completely convinced, but he took it well. "Remind me to beat up the little shit next time we see him," he told her, putting a hand protectively on her shoulder. Ara felt something in her heart twinge as the pain from having to lie to Add hit her, but she managed to conceal it with a huge grin.

"So, are we taking this job or no?"

* * *

As it turned out, they did end up taking the job, and suddenly they were back in Velder, and Ara was feeling very wary of her surroundings. Every corner they turned, she was looking first, then walking when she felt that the coast was clear of police and Velder officials.

Add was trying to be helpful, offering to help her look for this _fucking douchebag_ but ultimately being turned down. "You know, if you'd just let me help you, we'd finish this stupid job in half the time," he complained.

Ara didn't say anything for a few moments. "Just let me handle it," she murmured afterwards. "He was my problem, not yours."

Her companion grimaced in defeat. "Touche."

It was getting pretty late, and they were nowhere even remotely near the stronghold that everyone said Chloe had set up camp in. It was also getting a little chilly, so both of them were wrapped in dark cloaks from head to toe. "Add, can't you just search up where the capital HQ is with your Dynamos and just take us there using that?" She pointed, flicking one of his gadgets playfully.

"Good point," he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "but we're still going to probably have to take all night to just get there, considering we don't want to get caught, and the fact that Velder is still partially in ruins. I can send one ahead, and we can go in the morning, and actually have a plan."

Ara considered it for a moment. "Plan sounds good," she agreed. "Let's find a shelter for now."

After Add sent off one of his Dynamos to locate the demon stronghold, the two of them pawed through the rubble of what was once a mighty city, eventually finding what might have been an aqueduct. It was tall enough for Add to stand up in, and just as wide, so after finding some firewood and drilling a hole in the top of the pipe, they moved in.

"You want some garlic bread?" Offered Ara, heating some up by the small fire they'd managed to build. She never went anywhere without it-her garlic bread was the staple of her diet.

"Uh, I'll pass. You want some grilled meat?" Replied Add, cautiously searing pieces of meat they'd bought at some random butcher's place a few days prior. It was still fresh, despite having travelled through hell at the bottom of Add's bag.

"I'll take a piece, please, waiter Add," she joked. Add grumbled, but handed over the alien meat anyways. Ara beamed at him before tearing off a piece with her teeth, savouring the crisp edge against the juicy flesh. "I always wonder how you manage to grill meat so well."

Add laughed dryly. "That's a Kim family secret. How do you always have so much garlic bread on you?"

Ara shrugged. "That's a Haan family secret. Now, tomorrow, we need plans-"

Suddenly, Add lunged at the fire, dumping the sack of somewhat-clean sand they'd brought with them on the flame. "Shh," he whispered, pointing at the roof, where there were sudden footsteps.

Something had caught on to them, without ever letting them notice.

Add pointed at the ends of the pipe, which were blocked off by the rubble. Slowly, they inched their way to one end of the pipe, not daring to breathe.

Silence.

Then, the footsteps began to echo farther and farther away. They were safe-for the time being.

"That was close," whispered Add. "We really shouldn't be lighting fires in the middle of enemy territory. Maybe-just maybe-the sparks might have travelled to something and it caught on fire. We've got to be careful. Don't want the douche to catch us," he added.

Instead of nodding like she wanted to, Ara's mind began to race. _This is all a lie,_ she wanted to say _so_ badly. _I just want to protect you, to make sure no one ever catches you and sends you to prison or kills you or even tries to hurt you remotely-_

She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a firm hug. "Please tell me you aren't going to just leave me alone on that battlefield tomorrow," she whimpered, burying her face in his chest. "I've lost my parents, my brother, all my friends-I can't lose you now, too…"

Add awkwardly patted her back before pulling away from her and pressing his lips gently to her forehead. "I won't," he promised. "I'll keep us alive, no matter what."

His broad grin only made Ara even more wary. "Alright," she sighed, pulling her arms away from his. "We really should get some sleep," she mumbled, sitting down.

Yet Add sat down next to her. "You helped me sleep a few nights ago," he reminded her as he wrapped his arms around her. "At least let me repay the favour."

That night, Ara fell asleep on Add's shoulder, hoping that their attack would result in victory.

* * *

"Kim! To your right!" Yelled Ara over her shoulder as she slammed her spear into another demon in the throng. The scientist didn't reply, but turned around to knock the back of his hand into the glitter's face, sending it barrelling back into the fray.

Two hours. It took them two hours to get to the flippin' Hope Bridge, less than a kilometre away, if only because it was still ablaze from the sparks last night. Glitters of all shapes and sizes were rushing in from all directions, and it was driving Ara mad.

"Suppression Energy," she muttered under her breath, slashing aside another glitter as she cast the incantation, willing a miniature black hole into existence. Hundreds of glitters flew towards the hole, until Ara couldn't sustain it anymore, at which point it exploded into bits of black glitter blood and black-stained patches of leathery skin.

"Ara! Someone's coming!" Yelled Add, his Dynamos releasing a shockwave that Ara barely just avoided by summoning some spirits to protect her at the last second.

"More demons?!" She shouted back, wondering how he'd be able to tell.

Add shook his head. "No," he replied, "it's the Red Knights!"

Sure enough, Ara could see the red tabards and dark metal armor that were tell-tale characteristics of the once Hamel-based military division. "For Hamel!" Yelled their leader, the knight Penensio. Still ever an idiot, but nonetheless a cutie. "Hey, you two. Name and allegiance?"

"Ara Haan and Add Kim, we're fighting against the bedamned demons!" Yelled Ara. "Why else do you think we're blasting them to high heaven?!"

Penensio flinched for a moment when Ara mentioned Add's name, but Ara didn't catch it. "Good point," he yelled before a swarm of glitters flowed over him and another began racing towards Ara, forcing her to turn her focus away from the commander.

Slash. Stab. Spin. Smack. The same movements, repeated over and over. The waves of demons seemed endless; however, they were in the demon stronghold, after all. Occasionally, when there were just too many demons surrounding her, Ara would leap out of the way and chant an incantation, bringing the Haan family's ancient magics to the party.

A scream suddenly echoed through the air. Someone had been hit unexpectedly.

Another scream. Then, another. Ara felt her spine tingling and raised her spear instinctively as the blinding flash of a silvery knife clashed against the blade.

"CHLOE!" Hollered Penensio, hacking his way out of a pile of demons. "You're going down, for once and for all!"

The dark elf smirked, twirling her knife in one hand and a short bow in the other. "Well, well, what do we have here?" She teased, tossing her cotton candy-pink hair over her shoulder. "If it isn't Ran's baby sister. How delightful."

Ara felt the blood rushing to her face instantly. "For the last fucking time," she snarled, feeling the spirits under her feet, "I AM NOT RAN'S FUCKING SISTER!"

 _Ara, calm yourself-_

Without even bothering to heed the kumiho's words, Ara leapt into action, catching Chloe with her spear as the elf tried to leap away.

"Rakshasa, path one!" She yelled, firing her spirit energy at her opponent. Chloe screamed as the spirit energy hit her and began to drag her back towards Ara, who muttered "path two" under her breath and sent an entire wave of the orbs at the elf.

"Path three!" As Chloe stood up painfully, the ever-familiar circle of shadow spears came crashing down around her, trapping her within the circle. A silhouette of Ara suddenly zipped through the ring of spears, pushing through Chloe and forcing her down yet again.

The spirits rumbled at Ara's feet, shooting Chloe four metres into the air and dropping her back down in the middle of the battle with a terrifying _thump_. Almost instantly, Ara dropped to the ground, gulping in air and pressing her hand to her chest. "Eun…" She whispered.

 _I was afraid of this. Ara, listen to me. You've overexerted yourself. You're not going to make it out of this alive._

"NO!" She yelped, clutching her chest even tighter as the pain suddenly hit her harder.

 _LISTEN TO ME, CHILD. El dammit. I have a plan. I need you to gather as much spirit energy as you possibly can, okay? This is the only way I can keep you alive afterwards._

Shuddering, Ara nodded, forcing herself to stand up and leaning on her spear. "Eun, for the record, it was nice knowing you," she muttered as she drained demon after demon of their souls. "Also, if I don't make it out, please, tell Add-"

Something sharp pierced her in the back, shooting spasms of pain up her spine and through her every limb. A scream escaping her lips, Ara fell to the ground once more as someone planted their foot on her back. "I'm not done with you yet, little girl," sneered Chloe, armed with nothing but her now bloody knife. "Time to say goodbye."

 _OH EL THIS IS GOING TO BE TIGHT. ARA, REPEAT AFTER ME._

Above her, Chloe laughed, raising the knife once more. Eun frantically recited a string of words that Ara was only barely able to make out. "... Yet till the last ray of sunlight… Shines upon me… I will stand… And fight for justice…"

As Ara finally dared to close her eyes, a splash of colour danced across her thin band of vision. Somehow, she knew that she'd wake up safe and sound after all.

* * *

"When are you going to wake up, Ara? We won."

The sound of a soothing voice barely just shook Ara out of her slumber. It was a familiar voice, but Ara wasn't ready to wake up just yet to talk to this person, however kind he was. She kept her eyes closed and attempted to steady her breathing.

"Ara, I need to change your bandage, so I'd appreciate it if you'd wake up now."

There it was again. This time Ara was certain that it was Add. Who else would be comfortable enough to change a bandage for her?

Come to think of it, why did she even have a bandage?

A sigh. "Alright, if you're not going to wake up, I'm going to have to resort to extreme measures."

 _Do what you will,_ thought Ara giddily, _I'm not waking up._

"Here goes."

The moment Add put one fingertip on Ara's stomach, she squealed and instantly sat up to batter at Add's face. "It's not funny!" She wailed, trying to shield her stomach. "You meanie! Using my ticklishness against me, an innocent girl?" She pressed her hand to her chest. "I'm hurt, Add."

Add chuckled, sitting on the bed next to her and wrapping his arms around her. "You are hurt, Ara. Please be careful. I have to rewrap your injuries now," he said softly, in a voice that Ara had never heard him use ever before.

"Where do I have injuries?" She murmured, looking down at her body. She wasn't clothed in her fancy black dress anymore-hopefully Add had the common sense to get a female to undress her-and now sported a simple white tunic that was more of a tube with sleeves than anything. All the cuts on her arms were bandaged up, yet, but none of them had soaked through.

Add cleared his throat. "It's the one on your back," he said in a very small voice. Ara could feel the waves of _awkward_ radiating off him.

Shrugging, she pulled the covers up before finding the edge of the tunic and pulling it over her head. The strain from moving her back hit her as sour pain, but she ignored it, trying to cover her chest with the blankets as Add moved with the roll of bandages to examine her back.

"Well, on the upside, it's stopped bleeding, so I don't have to give you another blood pack," he dictated, removing the old bandages slowly and wrapping Ara's midsection in new ones. "On the downside, you'll be a little sore for a few days."

He stepped away from her. "All done," he said, tossing the tunic back to her and turning away. "What I don't get is how you're still alive," he admitted while she slipped the garment back on. "When I got to you, you had no pulse, but by the time I'd hauled you off the battlefield, you were breathing again, albeit knocked out cold."

Ara grimaced. "Well, Eun came to the rescue," she said, picking at a scab on her arm. "She gave me an incantation that let me live on. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be using it again anytime soon-it's too volatile and destructive to use often-"

Her words drowned out as Add leapt onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her tightly, like she had the night before(or was it? She'd lost track of time.). "I promised I'd never leave you," he said, trembling, "and yet I left you alone and _you died_ , Ara. You actually fucking died. I wasn't there for you when you needed me, and look what happened now."

Ara ran her hand down his spine softly. "It's alright," she replied. "I guess I kinda didn't uphold my end of the promise, technically. I did leave you for a while there." She let out a short laugh. "I'm sorry I broke my promise."

Only then did she see the clock on the wall.

It wasn't the time that surprised her. Rather, it was the giant Velder insignia in the dead centre of the timepiece that worried her.

"Add…" She began, pulling away from his embrace. "Are we… In Velder?"

Solemnly, her companion nodded. "I know, your ex is here and it's not safe-"

"NO!" Ara screwed her eyes shut. _It's now or never._ "It's all a lie. I did date Penensio for a while, but we broke up on amicable terms. It's not about me anymore, Add… Please, just let me protect you-"

"Wait." The scientist's eyes widened. "How much do you know?"

"Add, please-" Add tore himself away from her as she laid her hand on his shoulder. "Fine. I just know that you're wanted by the Velder police. No, Add, please," she begged as he turned away from her, "I just want to protect you, please Add, you've got to listen to me-!"

"Ara." Somehow, Add was managing to keep his voice steady. "If our experiences from the past few days have been any indication of my abilities-no, my inabilities, I am a hundred percent certain that I am not fit to be your partner. I wasn't there when you died and somehow used magic to resurrect yourself. I hurt a lot of people once, and I don't want that to happen again. Get back in bed, you're still injured!" He snapped as she stood up next to him.

As he turned back to her, Ara could have sworn he was fighting back tears. "I wish the best for you, Ara, I really do. Maybe… Maybe that just won't be me," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Without another word, he flicked his hand at the window. A Dynamo forced the window open as he ran towards it. _No,_ thought Ara frantically as he glanced back at her a final time, like he was trying to bring the memory of her along with him. _Add, no please come back you're the best thing that has ever happened in my life-_

But then he was gone, disappeared into Velder. It wouldn't be long before he probably disappeared from the face of the planet. The only friend Ara had ever truly _known_ was gone.

 _Oh bloody hell. Ara. Ara, listen to me. Hello? Earth to Ara?_

She didn't feel sad, or lonely, or mad, or heartbroken, or whatever people were supposed to feel after a friend left them like in cheesy fairytales and fanfiction.

She just felt...

* * *

 **A/N: You don't really need to know how she felt yet~ trust me, it will all come together next chapter.**

 **The lullaby Ara sings is one of my own creations. I used it in a short original fic on Fictionpress, but I really don't go on it anymore.**

 **FINALS ARE GOING TO BE THE END OF ME. Please bear with me~ I promise I will have Blink up soon, here and on AO3!**

 **-Marg**

 **PS: plz go see what is going on with ElswordImagines over on tumblr I swear it's hilarious and horrible all at once be ready to kinkshame**


	4. Addiction

[A]ddiction

By MargaritaDaemonelix

Chapter 4: Addiction

 _Addiction(noun; plural: addictions) (Ah-dik-shun)_

 _An unusually great interest in something or a need to do or have something._

* * *

As she stood on the palace doorsteps of Altera, being held by two nasods with deadly-looking spears, Ara wondered why she was in Altera to begin with.

It was the dead middle of summer in Lurensia, and despite being an island and surrounded by water, Altera was not exempt from this rule. It was still sweltering, and Ara was wearing a cloak that fell down to her ankles. "Please, just let me in," she groaned as the guards continued to bar her entry, "I just need to take a piss, get a drink, and talk to the queen. Not necessarily in that order."

"ENTRY DENIED," recited the automaton in perfect monotone. "PLEASE SUBMIT A TICKET IF YOU WISH TO HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE QUEEN."

"Oh, for fuck's sake-" Ara grabbed the walkie-talkie out from the guard's belt, summoning her spear from the shadows cast by the two nasods. "You two will stand back and do absolutely nothing," she hissed, pointing it at them awkwardly with her left hand.

"WE WILL STAND BACK AND STAY RIGHT HERE," they whimpered in unison.

Ara looked at the buttons on the walkie-talkie. There were only two: one for talking, and the other presumably a power button. She clicked on the one for talking. "Is anyone there? Over," she said, hand on hip.

"PLEASE RETURN THE SPEAKING DEVICE TO OUR GUARDS, MISS HUMAN," said a trembling voice on the other side. _Ah, so nasods can feel fear~ Although I already knew that from Eve…_

"Who's on that side? Hmm?" She hummed.

"NUMBER 203-496, MISS HUMAN."

"Call me Ara. 203-496, dear," said Ara in the sweetest voice she could muster, "do me a favour, okay? Could you please bring this walkie talkie to Her Majesty, Queen Evangeline?"

The nasod paused for a moment. "AFFIRMATIVE," it said. "HER MAJESTY WILL BE ABLE TO SPEAK WITH YOU SHORTLY."

There was a burst of static before the line went silent for a few moments. "203-496 HAS NEVER MET HER MAJESTY," said one of the guards.

"203-496 HAS NEVER EXERCISED THE NECESSARY ETIQUETTE FOR CONFRONTING THE QUEEN," added the other. "IT IS DOUBTFUL THAT 203-496 WILL KNOW THE ETIQUETTE."

"Chillax, guys," drawled Ara, leaning against the wall. "You guys got numbers too?

"I… I AM 138-249, AND THIS IS 138-250," said one guard, gesturing to the other as well.

Ara snorted. "Too complicated. 138-249, you are now Bob, and 138-250, you are now Stuart. 203-496 can be Kevin. You see? Solved in an instant."

Stuart tilted his head. "I AM… STUART?" He dictated, pointing to himself.

Bob, on the other hand, positively beamed. "I AM BOB!" He said quite loudly. "THANK YOU, MISS ARA!"

The walkie talkie whirred back to life. " _ARA HAAN!_ " Yelled Eve. " _What do you think you're doing, harassing my guards?_ "

Ara pouted. So the sneaky little marshmallow had video surveillance, after all. "I'm not harassing them, promise!" She said, looking at the two guards innocently. "We were just talking, I swear! Anyhoo, are you going to let me in or not? I really have to piss…"

Eve sighed. " _Guards, please accompany miss Haan to my office,_ " she said. " _I have a feeling that this is going to be a long conversation._ "

Bob and Stuart both saluted. "YES, YOUR MAJESTY."

The doors of the great Alteran palace opened, revealing the millennia-old architecture that graced its halls. The floors were carpeted in red, but tapestries of every colour in the rainbow adorned the walls, depicting the history of the great nasod empire.

"I AM VERY SORRY, LADY HAAN," chittered another nasod who ran up and bowed deeply. "I AM 203-496. I WILL ACCOMPANY YOU TO THE LAVATORY."

"Actually, forget the number, and don't call me "lady Haan," that just sounds stupid," said Ara. "You're Kevin, I'm Ara. Got it?"

"YOU ARE KEVIN, I AM ARA. UNDERSTOOD."

"No, _you're_ Kevin."

"YES. YOU ARE KEVIN."

"AGH! Okay. _I_ am Kevin, _you_ are Ara."

"I AM KEVIN, YOU ARE ARA."

Ara clapped in glee. "Good."

A trip to the Alternian loo later(it was tinier than Ara's clothes closet back home in Fahrman) and Kevin was taking Ara to finally see Eve. "YOUR MAJESTY, ARA REQUESTS YOUR COMPANY," chirped Kevin, pushing the door open.

Eve's office was a mess, unlike everything else about the queen. Papers were flying everywhere, the office chair seemed to have been replaced with a filing cabinet, and Chung was sitting crosslegged in the middle of the room, buried in a pile of sticky notes and pen caps.

"Welcome to hell," joked the former prince of Hamel. "Would you like a free pen? Ah shit, this cap doesn't have a pen attached to it. Eve's been running through these things like beer." Said queen smacked him in the back of the head. "Right, nasods can't have alcohol. I digress."

"What brings you to my… disorganized office?" Said Eve, her eye twitching as she mentioned the state of her working quarters. "And where's Add?"

Ara sighed. "I have no clue, honestly. I just need information about him."

Chung pulled a sticky note off a strand of his hair. "I'm listening."

"So I found out that Add's a wanted criminal by the Velder government, right?" She began. "Long story short, he freaked out and ran for the hills."

"But you have no clue why he's wanted," concluded Eve, writing something down on a pink sticky note and attaching it to Chung's ponytail.

"Exactly," agreed Ara.

Eve sighed, capping her pen and dropping it in a cup that might have once held coffee. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" She asked.

Ara nodded. "Absolutely."

"Okay. Three years ago," explained Eve, "Add was living in a town not far from Elder, an outpost called Twin Watchtowers. He was experimenting heavily at the time, and Velder was convinced that he was insane. One of his experiments blew up half the town and pretty much obliterated it. He has always felt remorse for this, and I doubt that he will ever deny it."

Chung and Eve watched in somewhat awkward silence as Ara's legs slowly gave out underneath her, causing a cloud of papers to fly out when she sat down with a _thump_. "Heh," she laughed weakly. "Hehe. Heh."

"Ara?" Asked Eve, uncertainty tainting her voice. "Are you sound of mind?"

The black haired girl stood up, smiling. "Thanks, guys," she said, giving Eve a huge hug and Chung a hair ruffle, causing the sticky notes to flutter down around him like butterflies. "That's all I really needed to hear. I've got to get going now."

Eve smiled faintly. "If you ever need a place to stay, the Alteran palace will always be open to you," she said, dipping her head.

"Oh! That reminds me," said Ara, eyes lighting up, "the two guards at the door, and the one that brought me here. Can you give Kevin, Stuart and Bob pay raises or something? They deserve it."

As she flounced out the door, she couldn't help but giggle as the two royals glanced at each other out of sheer confusion.

Her three little nasod friends accompanied her to the door. "COME AGAIN!" Chirped Bob, waving cheerfully as Kevin bowed politely and Stuart patted Ara's arm.

Ara beamed at her three new friends. "I'll come back soon," she promised, "and I'll bring Add to see you guys. He'd love you all-he has an obsession with nasods, honestly. It's not really healthy for him. Maybe I won't bring him along after all."

Bob stared up at her adoringly. "Okay, fine! I'll just grab Add by the collar and make sure he doesn't destroy this place while fangirling out," she chuckled, giving the nasod a pat on the head. "I've got to go now, buh-bye!"

The three nasods waving in the distance, Ara walked farther and farther away from the Alteran palace until she couldn't even see the enormous building. "Next…" She murmured, removing a folded up map of Elrios from her pack and examining it closely. Once she'd finalized her destination, she headed towards Altera City, the industrial hub of Eve's empire that would doubtlessly have a COBO Teleportation Centre.

* * *

" _I'm so confused, Eun," she mumbled, flopping back on the bed and trying to ignore the pain shooting up her back. "What did he do that makes him so… Scared of me? And the world?"_

Child, you need to remember that he's got the weight of whatever crime he committed on his shoulders, _reminded the kumiho softly._ But it all depends on what he did.

" _Alright, then!" Declared Ara, sitting up straight. "I'm going to find out whatever he did, and then I'm going to try and help him. I know he feels bad right now, but I am going to make sure he knows that he can redeem himself and that he is the bestest partner in crime ever!"_

 _Eun made a noise like she was hacking a hairball._ And where do you expect to get this knowledge? It's not like Penensio is just going to explain to you how Add is a wanted criminal. He's probably going to be mad enough that Add escaped to begin with.

 _Ara froze. "Ehehe… I guess you're right. I'll go ask Eve; she's known Add for longer than I have," she amended._

Heh. Better. Now go!

 _She didn't have to be told twice. By the time Penensio came in to check on the bedroom, all the occupants were long gone._

* * *

"So here we are," murmured Ara, standing in a grove in the forest outside Elder City. She'd found a guide to get her to the remains of Twin Watchtower, a young woman named Luichel who ran a clothing store and was known for being the one to have turned Banthus in to the police. "Luichel, what happened here?"

The ginger girl gazed at the remains of the town sadly. "I was born and raised here," she said. "My parents were living here when about three years ago, there was a man who owned a house about…" She stopped at a square of land that was blackened and bore no plants. "Here. Yeah. We called him the Lunatic Psyker, because he was crazy as fuck, and when things didn't go right he'd go into the woods and punch trees and shit.

"So three years ago, I was visiting my uncle Hoffman in Elder City, because he had been elected as mayor and he wanted me to take over my grandmother's tailor shop," she explained, "so I survived the blast unscathed. My parents and my sisters weren't so lucky. They told me that the explosion levelled our house. The Psyker disappeared afterwards." She spat on the block of dirt that was once Add's house. "They still haven't caught the dirty bastard yet."

Some sort of rage filled Ara as she rushed forwards and picked Luichel up by the collar. "Listen to me, Luichel," she said, trying to keep her voice as level as possible, "the so-called Lunatic Psyker is _not_ crazy. _Not_ lunatic. _Not_ insane. He's a scientist, which means he's creative."

Luichel gulped. "He is too insane," she insisted. "He hooked his generator-things to his mind! He can control them with his mind! When he walked outside, they flew at people and he denied ever trying to hurt us!"

Ara dropped the girl and stomped her foot down, letting out an enraged yell. "That's because he put the damned controls under his toes!" She yelled. "Add, you _idiot!_ Of course they're going to fly everywhere if you _walk on the controls!_ "

Luichel waited patiently as Ara's rage fit ended. "I'm assuming you know him," she deadpanned.

Ara nodded.

"You folks are real strange people," sighed the ginger. "Do you know where he is now?"

"Probably off somewhere, punching trees and trying to forget that he ever met me," admitted Ara. "Or trying to turn himself in to the Velder police. Both are highly likely. Come to think of it, he might just be drinking himself silly off that ten-year old bottle of whiskey he said he had…"

"Okay, let's cut to the chase. Clearly," said Luichel, pointing at Ara, "you two have some really weird sexual tension going on in there. Next, if he really is trying to kill himself, please haul him back. If anyone's going to kill him, it's gonna be me or uncle Hoffman, in which case _I_ can drink _myself_ silly off that whiskey. If he's trying to turn himself in to the Velder police, he's going to be killed by them, so same rule applies. And, miss Haan," said Luichel, turning to her with giant brown eyes, "if he's truly repentant for what he did to my home, then, please tell him…" She gulped. "That he still owes me twenty bucks for when I bailed his ass out of stealing apples from Gran."

Ara promptly collapsed to the ground in laughter.

* * *

"Hello, how can I help you?" Said the man at the desk in the tiny Velder police station. Ara had blown nearly all her money on these teleportation trips, but it was worth it.

"Hi, could I speak to commander Penensio please?" She asked, fluttering her eyelashes. "I've got some _business_ with him."

The receptionist gulped. "Third door down that hallway," he said, gesturing towards it.

"Okay, thanks!" Chirped Ara, skipping down the hall without a care in the world, as if people weren't noticing the giant spear covered in demon blood she was swinging around. She knocked on Penensio's door three times swiftly, just like she used to, and immediately his voice came back as an exasperated groan.

" _Go home, Ara, I don't have time for this, we had the Lunatic Psyker and he escaped, dammit!_ "

Ara paid him no attention and opened the door anyways. "Greetings, Penny," she teased, plopping herself down on the lone chair in front of his desk. "Long time no see."

"You helped Add escape, didn't you," hissed the commander, holding a pair of scissors threateningly at Ara's throat.

"Oh, please, Penny, he skipped out of this by himself," she laughed, pushing the scissors away from herself. "While this time I am not here to _spar_ you, I do have a very, very important request for you."

"And that is?"

"To let Add go," she said, shrugging.

Penensio immediately flew into a fine rage. The scissors impaled themselves in the ceiling, next to the shattered lightbulb. "HAVE YOU ACTUALLY LOST YOUR MIND, HAAN?" He spluttered. "That is a lunatic we're talking about-"

"No, that is a scientist who was mistreated and never got the chance to appeal to himself in court because _Velder's judicial system has fucking issues!_ " She snarled, shaking him by his shoulders. "If you'd bothered to actually ask what happened from him, you'd have realized that _he did not intend to destroy the place_. It's his hometown, for El's sake!"

The commander sat down, and the room was silent as Ara glared at him. "I guess you know him better, so explain," he ordered.

"Add is a scientist," she said calmly, taking in deep breaths, "who accidentally blew up the town of Twin Watchtowers when his experiment failed. He is not insane, and he doesn't try to hurt people. He's fighting for Elrios now, trying to keep it safe from the demons."

"What about the Dynamos?" Interrupted Penensio. "They say he linked them to his mind."

Ara scoffed. "I'd be damned before that ever happened. He says that sometimes to look impressive. He has controls embedded in his gloves. The reason they attacked people while he was living back in Twin Watchtowers was because he put the stupid controls in his shoes and tried to use his toes to control the dynamites."

"That… Is a really stupid idea," admitted Penensio.

"Not the best one he's ever had," agreed Ara. "And I'm not saying you let him go free. He is truly sorry for blowing up Twin Watchtowers, I know it, but that doesn't mean he deserves to walk away from all this without some form of punishment."

"Ara," said Penensio softly, "he might not have done it on purpose, but the Twin Watchtowers incident had one of the highest casualty rates in Elrian history. The only punishment Velder can deal for a crime of that level is death."

"No," stated Ara, standing up again.

"Oh no."

"I AM NOT LETTING YOU KILL HIM!" She shouted. "OUT OF ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, HE IS ONE OF THOSE THAT DESERVES TO LIVE THE MOST! HAVE YOU SEEN HIM RESCUE CHILDREN FROM DEMONS? MARCH INTO A DEMON STRONGHOLD AND LIMP OUT, BARELY HOLDING ONTO LIFE? HE SAVED _MY_ LIFE, DAMMIT!"

Tears began to leak out of her eyes. "I know he's done something horrible," she gasped, "but please, jail him. Make him do community service. Draft him into the army. Anything. Lay his crimes on me, if you must. But I implore you, let him live."

Penensio was silent. Then he stood up. "One month, Ara," he decided, opening the door. "If he doesn't turn himself in within one month, the death penalty will stay."

Out of all the things that Penensio expected, Ara running up to him and doing something between crying uncontrollably, hug him and shake his shoulders like crazy was not something he expected. "Thank you," she sniffled, wiping her eyes with the furry ruffle around her neck before grinning at him. "I'll be seeing you around, I suppose."

She walked through the door. "Oh, and protip," she said, turning back to him, "Vanessa's never going to notice you unless you stop staring at her ass while you think she's not looking."

And then she was gone again, leaving a very, _very_ flustered Penensio in the doorway of his office.

* * *

Yet nearly two weeks later, Ara found herself in the middle of Ruben, confused and hungry and _angry at the world_ and altogether just confused. She had no leads whatsoever on where Add was, and time was running out. She had to find him before Penensio called the chase back on, and no one had seen him in the past few days.

"Okay, let's solve this, one problem at a time," she said, taking in a deep breath of air and exhaling. "Okay, which problem do I want to tackle first?"

Her stomach grumbled. "Alright, I'll get something to eat first, I suppose," she said. Scanning her surroundings, her eyes rested on a small bar that was still lively, despite the time. "Ah, yes. Isn't that Adams' place?"

Her entrance into the bar didn't nearly have as big of an impact as it had, the night she'd met Add. Her long cloak, which she'd salvaged from the supplies that Add had left in the room, swept down to her ankles, shielding her long legs and large chest. She wandered towards the counter, where her old friend, Adams, was mixing a drink for a customer. Once a bioalchemist, he'd retired to open a small bar to cater to the hoards of warriors passing through Ruben.

"Hello, Ara," he greeted softly. "Vodka on the rocks?"

Ara shook her head. "Nah. I'll take a whiskey this time. The strongest you've got."

Adams whistled. "Wow, Ara Haan, having her least favourite drink in the world. It's the apocalypse," he said, dramatically pressing the back of his hand to his forehead.

"It's grown on me," chuckled Ara, graciously accepting the drink.

It was just one glass. One glass couldn't hurt. One glass couldn't make her forget.

"Forget who?"

Ara's eyes snapped back up from her drink, having realized that she'd spewed her internal monologue out. "A friend," she managed.

Adam sighed as he wiped a glass and set it on the shelf behind him. "Tell me about it."

"We're-well, we were good friends," she said, gazing back into her amber whiskey. "I don't know what we are now." She laughed dryly, chugging down the rest of her drink and ignoring the burn in her throat. "Another one, please."

"Ara, it's really strong," insisted Adams, holding the glass back from her. "You've already had three glasses; you can't handle it. It's got more burn than any of the vodka I have."

"Who fucking cares?" She laughed, flopping over the counter and pounding on it. A few other patrons' drinks spilled a little, earning her a few glares. "If Add can handle it, I can handle it. Besides, you've seen me drink an entire bottle of vodka before."

"Okay, time out," exclaimed Adams as Ara began reaching for the whiskey bottle herself. "You're drinking to forget someone. I get that. Ara, it's not healthy for you. You've come here after each of your breakups, and yet I've never seen you like this."

"That's because you don't fucking know Add!" She screamed, stomping her foot. "I want him back in my life, and I want him _now!_ "

The entire bar stopped to stare at her. "Okay, either she's just really drunk," commented a redhead at a nearby table, "or she's just hit cold turkey."

"Someone's a little emotional today, aren't they~" Snarked the girl with purple hair next to him.

Everyone in the building returned to their prior activities as Ara lay on the counter, tears beginning to trickle out of her eyes. "Please, I just want him back," she whispered, a sob erupting from her chest.

Adams patted her shoulder from the other side of the counter. "If it helps, I can help you find him," he offered.

But she didn't respond. She was already fast asleep.

* * *

It had been a long day of fighting demons in Bethma.

Ara was tired, and clearly, the girl she'd teamed up with temporarily to fight with was tired too. "I'm going home," said the younger girl, whose name Ara could barely remember.

Her month was nearly up. She was three days away from losing Add forever, and her head hurt so much every time she thought of him that she'd pretty much just given up. After her last little rage tantrum back at Adams' bar in Ruben, she'd held back on the booze, but just this time, she looked up at the bar in the distance.

It was familiar. Too familiar.

 _That's the bar where you met Add, dummy_ , smirked Eun. _Go on, I won't bite._

It had been a long day. Ara decided that a drink was in her best interests. Slowly, she walked into the tiny building. It had suffered a lot since her last visit; the demons had been merciless with Bethma when they'd attacked suddenly.

People inside were still having fistfights and drinking beer like wild animals. _I should bring Eve and Chung here sometime,_ she thought, _or maybe not? Didn't Chung say that nasods can't have alcohol? Ah welp._

Her cloak still wrapped around her, she didn't make an entrance like she had the first time, but she did sit down at the same spot in front of the bar. The bartender smiled. "What can I get you, miss?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

"A glass of whiskey, please," she requested, smiling softly.

The drink was soon handed to her, in exchange for two dollars. She gingerly took a sip before letting out a sigh. _That's much better._

"That's mighty strong for a delicate flower like you."

The voice coming from beside her made her nearly made her drop her drink. _Add,_ she thought, gripping her glass a little tighter.

Her gaze travelled down to where his hands were, clasping a glass of clear liquid tightly. Judging by the scent alone, Ara could tell it was vodka.

It was like they were meeting for the first time, all over again. Except it felt like the last.

"Oh really? You'd know how strong whiskey is, you drink it all the time," she said, shrugging as she sipped her whiskey again. "Come to think of it, do you still have that ten-year old bottle of it? You should probably give it to Luichel. She says you owe her one-something about stealing apples?"

They didn't even glance at each other, but Ara knew Add was smirking from the way his breathing changed. "Ah, that little bitch," he snorted. "I guess I do owe her one, but no way in hell am I betting my whiskey."

"She says you owe her twenty bucks," offered Ara, downing the last of her drink.

Add stood up. "I guess I do," he said, turning and leaving.

Ara whirled around, but he was already halfway through the throng of wrestling men and half-naked women. "Wait, Add!" She yelped, hurrying after him.

When she managed to catch up to him, he was already on his Dynamos, preparing to disappear into the night. "Oh no you don't," she exclaimed, pulling him off the gadgets by the shoulder and putting on the fiercest glare she could.

Add removed his hood slowly, still not facing her. "Just leave me alone, Ara," he said, still as blank as ever. "I don't want to have to hurt you."

"But you are hurting me," she pleaded. "Add, it hurts me for you to stay away. Please, just come back and I swear I'll never let Velder catch you-"

In a flash, Add whirled around, grabbed Ara by the shoulders, and pushed his face into hers. Ara suddenly found herself kissing back, wrapping her arms behind his back as his hands tore her hood off, burying themselves in her hair.

As she opened her eyes, Ara was shocked to find Add's eyes filled with tears. "Thank you," he whispered, tearing away from her, "I just needed to see your face one last time."

The world exploded with light as a few of Add's Dynamos knocked her away from him, sending her flying a few metres away. By time she'd blinked the dark spots out of her eyes, he was already flying off into the night.

 _Ara, if you want to catch him, I suggest you get a move on. Ara? Hello, earth to Haan?_

For a moment, Ara couldn't hear anything. She was frozen on the ground, her fingers trying to capture the last of Add's warmth.

 _HAAN! GET YOUR ASS OFF THE GROUND! WE STILL NEED TO CATCH YOUR IDIOT OF A BOY TOY!_

"Don't call Add my boy toy!" Snapped Ara, her face turning red. "Hold your horses, I'm coming!"

Spirits rushed by her side as she dashed through the night after Add, who seemed to be headed towards a forest. Something bright overhead flashed, though, and the next thing that Ara saw was a streak of purple falling out of the sky.

 _Oh no…_

The moon was bright enough that Ara was able to reach behind herself and pull her spear out of her own shadow. "Who could that have been?" She muttered, getting ready to attack whoever she saw in the light-filled clearing up ahead.

 _Ah, of course._

Of all the people they could have run into, it was Ran who was currently tying Add up(or at least trying to). "Ah, welcome, baby sister," he said all too cheerfully. "I was going to use your boyfriend here as bait, but I suppose I didn't have to after all."

Ara dug her heels into the ground, braking herself in the middle of the clearing. "Okay, which of those _sick fucks_ told you that the whole family thing gets on my nerves?" She demanded, pointing her spear at him. "Was it In? No, we killed her. Dammit, it was that Ignia bitch, wasn't it. Agh, we let her get away."

"Hey, at least you left that nasty bruise on her ass," amended Add. "Gave her a taste of her own medicine."

"WILL YOU TWO STOP FLIRTING FOR TWO SECONDS AND LET ME KICK YOUR ASSES BACK TO VELDER?!" Shrieked Ran, waving his sword in the air. "Jeez, what does it take for a _fucking demon general_ to get a word in with his own sister and her boy toy?"

(Somewhere, Eun was giving Ran a huge thumbs up.)

"Also, _brother dear_ , who told you that Add and I were dating?" Growled Ara. "Just because it's not confirmed doesn't mean you should be making assumptions, Ran." She paused for a moment. "That all said, who let you hurt Add? I'm fairly certain that _I_ sure as hell didn't give you permission."

She locked eyes with Add for a moment before charging at the demon she once called her brother.

Ran avoided Ara's first attack, jumping out of the way as she slashed down at him. "You really think you can catch me with that kind of speed?" He taunted.

Ara's eyebrows furrowed. "Wind Wedge," she muttered, jabbing forwards with lightning speed. None of the hits connected with Ran, though, leading him to laugh.

"Dear sister, what _are_ you trying to do? Because you sure as hell aren't hitting me."

"Oh, but dear brother," smirked Ara, "that was not the intention."

Ran stared in awkward silence as he realized that his foot was no longer planted on Add's back, and all the rope that had been loosely wrapped around him had been severed by Ara's second attack. Add stood up, rolling his sleeves up and flexing his fingers a little. Behind him, the six Dynamos whirred to life.

"Really, Ran, you're going to have to do better than that."

Ran bared his teeth at the both of them. "Hah! Two wimpy kids, against me? I'll probably just sit down and watch the two of you beat each other up."

Add looked like he was about to just walk up to Ran and give him a righteous beatdown. Instead, he settled for flipping the bird at him.

One of the Dynamos reacted and shot a short bolt of electricity at Ran, which the dark earl just flicked off with his sword. Add chuckled nervously. "Whoops."

Ran raised an eyebrow. "I take it that was your declaration of war?"

Both Ara and Add charged in at the demon, bodies crackling with the souls of the damned and the rush of electricity. Ran barely just managed to hold their attack in place with his sword, though the impact sent him hurtling back several metres.

"Ara, stand back," commanded Add in a voice she'd never heard him use, strong and yet soft.

She backed away as a massive whirlwind of electricity began to whip violently around Add, creating a tornado around him. "Prepare to meet your maker, Ran," cackled Add, "caus' it's Doomsday for you."

As Ara watched in slight terror, Ran got sucked into the tornado, spinning through the air in what had to be plasma before shooting up at least ten metres into the sky and crashing down like a meteor. The moment she managed to open her eyes to see what had happened, though, Ran was back on his feet, swinging his sword at Add, who dove out of the way in time.

 _Ara, listen to me. Do you want to spare him?_

"No. He hurt Add. I can't let this monster get away," she growled, gripping her spear tightly.

Eun smirked. _Then I will lend you my power._

The moment the celestial energies flowed into her, Ara felt spirits of all kinds gather beneath her feet, awaiting her command. _Please guide me, Mother and Father,_ she prayed. _This is no longer my brother, but a demon, that I must face. Please give me the strength to give my brother peace…_

Ran let out a guttural scream and charged, his sword aimed right at Ara's heart. Stepping to one side, she forced him back with a few slashes before dropping her spears into the shadows and raising both her arms.

The spirits underneath her lifted her up into the air as she generated all the energy she had into one massive orb, a collection of the thoughts and power of those that Ran murdered in his campaign across Elrios. _Aren, forgive me._

She took in a deep breath. "I hope you liked Hell, Ran," she said, eyes blazing with a fire that had never been lit until then, "because you're never coming back."

Ara couldn't tell whose terrified scream pierced the air when she hurtled the ball at Ran. As she settled to the ground, Eun's power draining out of her, Ran thumped on the ground as he keeled over, clutching his chest. Without even bothering to look at his chest, Ara knew that the damage was fatal. After all, no one, not even a demon, could survive two attacks of that caliber consecutively.

When Ran finally fell to the ground, defeated by two of the very people that he tried to hurt the most, Ara saw a wisp leave his body. Pale skin, dark hair, golden eyes just like hers…

Her eyes welled up with tears. "Aren."

Aren's smile was serene. " _Thank you, Ara,_ " he whispered. " _Thank you for letting me pass on. I thought I'd be stuck in the body of that demon for all eternity, but you set me free. Thank you._ "

He turned to Add, who had managed to walk up to Ara. " _And you two, Add,"_ he said. " _Thank you for taking care of my sister. For protecting her._ " He seemed to wipe away a spectral tear. " _Please, protect each other from now own, and help the people of Elrios end this blasted war._ "

Ara nodded, a smile finally blossoming on her face. "Go, Aren. Mother and Father are waiting for you."

As Ara and Add watched, the wisp of spirit that was Aren Haan disappeared into the air, where Ara could have sworn she heard the sound of laughter and reunion.

"I guess… I'll be taking my leave now," said Add, turning away and waving a hand at his Dynamos. Instantly, Ara whipped around and grabbed his shoulder, digging her nails into his sleeve.

"You will do nothing of the kind!" She snapped. "Is this how you're going to leave me? After all we've done together? After I went through hell to get you a chance with Velder? I thought we promised not to leave each other anymore, Add. And I swear, I'll never leave you again."

Her voice trailed off as her grip on his shoulder loosened. He didn't respond. "But if you've got somewhere else you need to be, someone you need to look after, that's fine by me," she concluded, beginning to tear herself away from him.

 _Maybe I was wrong all along._

 _Maybe he was the best thing that's ever happened to me, but I'm the single worst thing that's happened to him._

"Ara."

Add suddenly laid his hand over hers, preventing her from leaving. "I'm sorry," he said, facing her finally. "Maybe I haven't been the best business partner, or the best friend. I just… I'm…"

He shook his hood off, revealing his unruly mane of white hair. "Let me just show you, please," he begged, pulling his hand off hers and cradling her face.

Ara didn't have to be told twice. Standing as tall as she possibly could, she hooked her arm around his neck, pulling him down to her level, and pressed her lips to his.

She didn't dare to open her eyes. She was afraid that she'd just wake up, and this would all be a dream. But when she felt Add's gentle fingertips brushing away the tears she didn't know she had under her eyes, Ara finally opened her eyes to face him.

Add was smiling, but it wasn't like before, when it was a smile of happiness. She knew every inch of his face, and he was sending messages at her. Things like _I'm sorry_ and _it's finally over_ and _I was afraid I'd lost you forever_.

"Ara, I think… I'm in love with you," he whispered, his forehead still pressed to hers.

She couldn't shake her head, not like that, but she knew love wasn't the answer. "No, Add," she replied, "I'm addicted to you."

* * *

 **A/N: And we're done, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for following this pet project of mine for so long, and thank you supporting me all the way! Everytime one of you follows, favourites or reviews any of my works, I get a little jumpy inside. So once again, thank you!**

 **As for what I'm doing now... Blink is still in the works, but i'M FREE AND SCHOOL IS OVER HALLELUJAH! I will probably be able to finish the first chapter of the first part by the time my summer school course begins(I cri), but as for next week, I have a silly little oneshot planned out~**

 **Again, thank you for supporting me, and I hope you have a great summer!**

 **~MargaritaDaemonelix**


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